The Time Machine Chronicles
by TravelingThroughTime
Summary: The future is a rural and uncharted land to behold.The caverns may be gone, but there are still tales yet to be told.What lies beyond the safety of their canyon?And are there eyes watching them from the stars?What evil has spawned?Sequal to the 2002 film.
1. Chapter I: Before The Hunt

**Summary: **The future is uncharted and unknown to the eye of the Professor. He still has much to learn of not only the culture of the Eloi, but of the great beyond that rests atop the wall of the canyon and down the west end of the river. What lies beneath the shadows of the forests, the mountains, the great waters? What new stories, mysteries and adventures will unfold in this new world? And what of the galaxy above them? Are there eyes watching them from the stars? If so, is it good or evil? And have they really seen the last of the Morlocks? The movie may have ended, but there are still stories yet to be told in this new chronicle that awaits the reader's eyes.

Based on the 2002 film_ The Time Machine_ with possible snippets from H.G. Wells' novel.

**Disclaimer: **Nothing's mine except the plot and a few Ocs that will be introduced later.

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PROLOGUE:

802,701... Presumably August.

The account of Dr. Alexander Hartdegen:

_I arrived here on July 16__th __of 802,701. Mara and Kalen, the Eloi who took me in, discovered me somewhere near their Monument Grounds atop the canyon. I remained unconscious for a day and ill for seven in the comfort of their dwelling before realizing where I was. Due to my rib fracture and the fever I had developed, I was bedridden for a while._

_I think that, for the first moment in my life, I've lost track of time. Though, on the other hand, the Eloi Calender is quite different from the one I once knew. They call this month Croma' or The Coming Of Fall._

_This is a far warmer land than it was in my own time. Even in the months of summer I do not recall this amount of heat._

_The sounds of the trolley rolling through the streets, the horses trotting amongst the paved roads, the bustling sidewalks of people saying "hello" or "get out of my way"; it is only an echo that lingers in the distance of my mind. Now all I hear is the singing of birds, the sound of children galloping on the bridges, and the song of the Eloi - an enchanting sound they are - and I must say that this new quietness is, rather comforting to my ears. The Eloi are so much more peaceful than the motor-mouthed New Yorkers; or at least they are once you can avoid being thrown into the river._

_The automobile; I have longed to own one, or at least take a ride, despite that one final memory, that nightmare on Bleeker Street. __The taste of a coca cola from the Pharmacy… Alas, I should have drank more of them whilst I had the time. It seemed to be one of the few comforts I had allowed myself after Emma's death. __The ticking of my pocket watch can be heard no more either. I think that, besides myself, young Kalen is rather disappointed of that. The boy had taken a liking to the trinket. _

_Mrs. Watchit knocking on the door of my laboratory. She was indeed a dear woman. What a hard time I use to give her. Oh how caught up I use to be in the walls of my laboratory, caught inside of my theories, my ideals, my time machine…and the hope of bringing Emma back. Oh my dear Emma, how I miss you still._

_And as for you, Philby; you were right about a lot of things. If only I had…no, if I were to appreciate the life I had then a little more, I may not be here now with Mara and Kalen; and what a loss that would be of it's own._

_As I look around, taking this all in, recalling the past few days; I realize that it was clearly fate that brought me to this place, brought me to be so determined to finish the machine and go forward looking for an answer…and I've finally found the answer to my question._

_I'll always miss the life I once shared with my beloved, the future we almost had together; but I have, I believe, finally found my peace…Somewhere I belong. __Like my father always said when I was growing up; God has a plan for all of us. Maybe this was his plan for me. I just hope he's not disappointed._

_~ Alexander_

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**~ The Time Machine Chronicles ~**

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**CHAPTER I: Before The Hunt**

They were quick to their beds in the days of the Morlocks, but they were slowly learning to embrace more hours of the night.

As for their canoes; they had come to the point of not even troubling themselves as much over pulling them up.

The heat of summer was coming to a slow but steady end, and the Eloi were preparing for the welcoming of fall; though, in this time, cool air and golden foliage was unlikely.

Alexander had noticed the change immediately once it had begun. There were more smiles around him, more laughter, and even a little more _Stone Language_ than before.

He himself on the other hand had been learning a bit of Eloi, slowly but surely.

Mara had been quite busy in the last few days, so busy in fact, that the household chores had been left up to Alex and Kalen. Neither of them found it amusing at all, but they didn't complain. She had been basket weaving with the other women folk, and this new hobby reminded the Professor of a pioneer quilting bee.

The new dawn of this era was at times uncertain and unpredictable; if you looked at it from a scientist's point of view. It felt at times as if they were living on the edge of the world with only the river below them that flowed gracefully into the Atlantic ocean; though you would have to row down some many miles to see that ocean and God knows what else. Who knew what great creatures had been spawned in the changing of time, what new predators could be lurking out there, swimming in that dark ocean or living in the jungles around them.

At times he wondered if they were alone now, if they were the only humans in existence; but if this Colony had survived these eons and these drastic geographical changes, then wouldn't it only be sensible for there to be others? Despite their abundance, the thought of them being the last race often made him feel empty somehow, though he didn't know why. Perhaps the dreaded feeling of how he would feel if in 1903, New York was the only human civilization; and perhaps he feared that now, it was.

He was beginning to grow fond of the secret desire he had of embarking on a great exploration in this land and seeing once and for all if there was any other human life out there.

"Mara, tell me," he had asked her two days back.

"Yes?"

"Do you know if there are any other Eloi out there? Other villages?"

She shook her head in bewilderment, wondering why he would ask such a question. Though the reason was plain and simple, considering it had not accured to either of them since they were, with other things, preoccupied...The Uber-Morlock.

"No one has ever ventured beyond this land, not past the caverns. And the few that have in stories of old never returned to tell the tale." But Mara was lying. To be truthful, the Eloi had ventured out to the mountains, every year in fact, yet she kept the secret away from him because it brought upon her great dread.

Her reply was discouraging indeed, but it wasn't enough to stop him from thinking.

Thinking…he was always thinking.

He wondered;

"_If I were to embark on such a journey, should I explore the jungles, or perhaps the sea? Ah, the sea…the longest I've ever spent amongst the waters was on a steamboat tour to see Liberty. Perhaps the jungle and the mountains would be the best of choices."_

It was true that he was no sailor, but with an ingenious mind like his there were few ideals that imposed as impossible.

"_But the Eloi take to the water more than anything else; rowing to their Monument Grounds, the Stone Gallery and fishing in the river…I wonder what the rest of the world is like now. I wonder if Europe still reigns in existence as far as there being life there."_

At times he felt like Christopher Columbus when he discovered America, or Louis and Clark when they explored the west. Though unlike those explorers, this man had come unprepared.

Being here in 802,701 however, _was_ living history.

Sitting alone on the balcony in the fog of noon, he absentmindedly placed his fingers beneath his chin. The touch of the stubble that seemed to be growing longer by the day, ceased him from his curious thoughts, reminding him that he had not only abandoned shaving, but he hadn't had a good bath in two days.

"No wonder Mara has stayed busy with her basket weaving." he scoffed. "I hope I haven't given the wrong idea that New Yorkers are typically unsanitary."

He lifted his left arm slightly, getting a whiff of the strong odor of sweat that had dried to his skin and shirt. The smell made him wince in utter disgust with himself.

Being in the wilderness gave him no right to abandon his hygiene, something he had practiced well his entire life, and now at thirty four he had just recently neglected his own grooming. It shocked him.

How the Eloi men groomed themselves remained on the long list of things yet to learn of them. It appeared that baldness and beardless faces were a part of their culture. Right now Alexander's best hope for cleanliness would more than likely be a bath in the river. So he eased down to the water, thinking that he would be alone.

He removed his shirt, his socks, slacks, suspenders and shoes of course; but the bottom part of his long johns remained. He had no intention of allowing countless Eloi see him completely naked. The fact that they had all cast their eyes upon him wading in the water was awkward enough for a man of his stature; and the faint sound of young women giggling in the seats of their boats made him want to crawl under a rock. Apparently privacy and being alone was a common ritual lost long ago.

He tried to ignore their presence as he swam leisurely through the smooth, almost still water; but he wondered if the giggling of the women and the scowling stares of the men folk were due to the possible fact that bathing in front of others was not proper for them after all.

He swam down along the bank of the river, and at a point the just floated, allowing himself to close his eyes and clear his mind. It felt good, and for the first time in four years he felt relaxed; but then a sharp voice whipped past his ears and his head bumped up against a canoe's side.

"Toko clor de nei!"

"Wh- what?" He reared himself up in the water, seeing that he had floated right into Toren's fishing boat.

The tone of Toren's voice and the sneering expression in his face told the professor that he was either being scolded or cursed.

"You're Toren, the one who helped me out of the caverns," he raised a finger, pointing it at the man before him. _"And the one who insisted on me being tossed into the river." _he thought.

"Watch where you swim!" Toren growled, before sitting back down and paddling the canoe further down river.

It was apparent that Toren was thankful for Alexander's good efforts; but there was still that little hostility between them. Albeit minor perhaps, but it was there no doubt.

The hope for a quieter, more private bathing spot had been fulfilled, or so he thought; but with so many playful children finding the courage to run about all over the place now as well as leap into the river from the dangling ropes, it was not long before a group of seven had crashed into the water with him, splashing and giggling and enticing him to join in the game.

"Toe' blear!" They said.

"Toe'…blear?" he furrowed a brow, stressed by them all the while, though too kind to deny their welcome.

"Toe' blear!" they repeated.

"I'm afraid it's something I do not yet understand." he said.

"Let's play! It is what they are saying." said a small girl. She was one of the many children who spent almost all of her time now with Vox; and the professor was grateful to that fact.

"Play…" he smiled partially, receiving another splash of water from a small boy. "I'm afraid I…well, why not?"

So he joined them, finding it rather pleasing that he still had a enough of that inner child left to enjoy himself.

Walking back alone on a small rocky bank, he noticed that he was overly exposed by his damp long johns; and he wondered why he had been so stupid in removing his pants. With some of the Eloi around and about, he would surely be noticed, and how humiliating that would be. He had remained in the water for more time than needed as it was, just waiting for the children to leave him.

He stood on a boulder in the river, and his best bet would be swimming back, getting wetter and climbing one of the dangling ladders and finding his clothes folded on the bridge; but to his unknowing knowledge, Mara had found his clothes, suspecting he had gone for a swim; and because they reeked so sourly, she could not resist the chance to scrub them clean. It was an opportunity she had been waiting for, and the reason she had not insisted on it before was because of her uncertainty of the polite way to tell him how desperately the clothes needed washing.

She hung them to dry over the balcony of their dwelling, and in the back of her subconscious mind she worried for his absence. The last thing she wanted for him to do was get hurt. He was still new here.

Kalen had not yet returned from the Stone Gallery, and there was still the hope that Alexander would be able to catch a ride home with him, depending on how far down river he was and in which direction he had chose to swim…hopefully east.

But to her dismay, Kalen returned home later that day with no professor at all; and when Mara questioned him, he was lame for an answer.

The discussion carried on for two more minutes in their native tongue, and it was soon decided that the two of them would go searching for the missing Alex.

About fifty good rows east, they passed Toren by and it was Mara who asked him about Alexander.

The reply was in Eloi as was the question, and it was said that he had not seen Alexander since he had bumped into his boat earlier.

Being busy with taking his daily catch home, Toren did not join the two Eloi in the search. So Mara and Kalen carried on without him.

"How could he swim so far?" Mara asked out loud.

"He might have found a boat. Or stayed in the shallows." Kalen replied, wanting to relieve his sister of her troubled mind.

Mara sighed. If anything happened to him, it would break their hearts. He was family now, the only family they had.

They came to the monument grounds where they hoped to find him wandering.

"Alexander? Alexander?" Their voices echoed continuously.

"…Over here." it came at last, the voice of their Alex.

"Where are you?" Kalen asked.

"Over here." he replied, a little more impatiently this time.

"Over where?" Mara demanded.

"In the bushes." he said, shaking a bush violently for them to see.

He poked his head out, and the two Eloi wandered closer in slow, almost suspicious steps, not sure of what to make of his strange behavior. They reminded him of two young deer who had discovered a lost friend in a trap.

"Why do you hide?" Mara asked, looking more puzzled than ever.

"I'm wet and I have no decent clothing."

"Clothing?"

"Hem'ara." he replied, remembering the translation.

"Oh…" she smiled. "I washed them and hung them to dry. Why did you remove them if you were shamed?"

"Because I stunk and I just wanted a nice, quiet bath…not that I had one." he expressed with annoyance. He was more angry with himself than he was with them.

Kalen laughed. He seemed to find this story amusing and it wasn't long before Mara joined in. The mere thought of this was the funniest thing they had ever witnessed.

"Alright, alright…you've both made your points."

"I am sorry." Mara gasped between giggling. "It is just funny to think you've been wet and hiding."

"If you wanted to bathe, we could have taken you to a better place." Kalen added.

"If I thought about it, I would've waited for the two of you to come home then. It seems I can't lift a finger for myself anymore here lately without having someone to guide me along." Alexander might have kicked his own ass because right now, he really felt like one.

"Here," Kalen slipped out of his aqua robe, handing it to the professor. "Wrap it round' your waist."

"Oh," Alex reluctantly took him up on the offer. "Thank you, Kalen."

After wrapping himself in the robe, they brought him home in the canoe.

He followed them up the ladder in the dark of night, trying to hang on the steps and the robe about him all at once. It wasn't an easy task, but somehow he managed.

The good thing, despite the dark, was that it was quiet and everyone was in their dwellings. Hopefully his clothes, as well as his long johns, would be dry before long.

"Are you hungry?" Mara asked him before he could retire upstairs.

"Are you going to make anything?" he asked her in response.

"Some clem'atri." she shrugged, pulling some of her hair behind one of her ears.

"Sounds good, but…could you bring mine up?"

"Yes."

Clem'atri was a word for soup made with kelp-like leaves. It had a pot liquor taste.

She brought him his soup in a wooden bowl, but she refused to let him eat alone beneath the sheet of his bed. And it was no surprise that Kalen was soon to join them as well.

Alexander sat up in bed, sipping the warm soup as Mara and Kalen devoured their's while sitting on the floor.

Between engulfments they laughed and shared stories of the things that had happened to them in that day. Mara with her basket weaving, Kalen with his lessons at the stone Gallery and the unforgettable incident with Alexander.

"Mara," he had a question that he desperately wanted answered. "What is this basket making that you've been doing for? The Eloi making all of these other crafts and delivering them in canoes? When I was at the Monument Grounds I saw tents and tables where a few Eloi were setting something up. What's this all about?"

She smiled. What she was about to share with him was something that she had been looking forward to all year; and this time it would be better, without the Morlocks, and the Eloi had plans for staying out longer this time right up into the hours of night.

"Kalen," she glanced at her brother beside her. "Yup' ene' tor de lorn lex?"

Kalen nodded and glanced at Alexander.

"In the stone language, they would call it fall festival…that's what Vox told me." The boy said.

"Ah, I see. A fall festival. Sounds exciting."

"Did you have them? In New York?" There went Kalen's fond questioning of Alexander's New York.

"Of course. We had spring festivals too…all kinds of them."

Mara cut in.

"This celebration is not just for the change of season." she said before confessing something she had hoped to hold secret. "It is to see who has been chosen to join the hunting party and to see them off."

"Really?" Now the Professor was even more intrigued.

"Yes." she replied. "But I am worried that Kalen may be going."

"Kalen? Why him?"

"He is at age when boys go on their first hunting…a long hunting."

"But I want to go, Mara." Kalen confessed. "Father would be proud."

"I know." she sighed.

"Mara," Alex cut in, "I thought you said a few days ago that the Eloi never ventured beyond the caverns."

Mara swallowed nervously and glanced him with weary eyes.

"I was not telling you all there is to tell of our people." she said at length.

"_Hunting party…"_ Alex pondered.

A hunting party? The Eloi had only fished in the river and harvested vegetation near their grounds. How would these gentle people manage as a hunting party? It seemed there was more to these people than the professor had thought.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Chapter II: Dinner With The Philbys

**CHAPTER II: Dinner With The Philbys **

The carriage was a smooth ride on the snow. The sound of the jingling bells that rung each time the Clydesdales took a step brought a faint smile to her aged lips; making her recall the fonder memories she had in life, memories of happier more merrier times.

She huddled beneath the warmth of her dark blue shawl, and upon her gray head was a black feathered hat. For it was late February and it was still very cold.

Between her legs and the man's who sat across from her was a large leather suitcase that held captive her belongings.

The man across her tried to give her an assuring smile beneath his brown mustache each time she found interest in glancing his way, but both of their minds were scattered amongst thoughts that hardly concerned the carriage ride through New York's bustling streets.

"_Whoa…" _they could hear the driver say to the steeds, his voice as calm as the light drizzle of rain.

The carriage paused briefly at the intersection and they could hear other buggies crossing in front of them, and a few motor car engines purring along the snow-covered roads.

Then the carriage continued it's pace to wherever it was they were being taken.

"It feels a little strange leaving the master's house to live in another." she sighed, not aware that she had spoken out loud.

"I can imagine how you must feel, Mrs. Watchit." he said kindly. "But I believe you'll find the Philby house less empty and less lonesome than Alexander's."

She gave him a smile, but he knew she remained haunted with despair.

"_God speed my fine lad…God speed." _

In the back of her mind, there was still that hope for Alexander's return. Little did she know that a return for him would be unlikely.

The home wasn't an elaborate mansion on an elaborate street, but it was a fine and somewhat attractive row home of red brick and appealing architecture nestled on a long street of other similar homes, all of them crammed together.

David sat her luggage in the snow as the driver handed him the other cases from the carriage's roof. He then extended his hand, helping Mrs. Watchit out of the comfort of the horse-drawn vehicle.

She stood to her feet after taking her leather case into her hands. David was holding the others.

Her glare started at the home's roof, and it ended on the woman standing on the stoop in front of the grand wood door, a small boy of nine sheepishly peering out from behind her.

"Come on then, Mrs. Watchit." David smiled, leading way to the house.

Mrs. Watchit was a widow. Her husband Mr. Watchit had worked as a gardener; but his heart had grown weak and he had passed away six years back. If not for Alexander's company, the old woman might not have made it through her grief - considering that she was by nature a headstrong Irish Lass.

"Mrs. Watchit," Molly smiled, "We're so happy to have you here."

"Thank you, dear." Mrs. Watchit replied, trying for a weak but friendly grin.

Molly Philby was an average-looking woman, medium-framed with brown hair pinned into a bun; but she had one of the merriest faces of anyone. She was always smiling and always eager to welcome anyone into the Philby home. Though she wasn't afraid to lay down the law with her boys. She was indeed the woman of the house, and David loved her dearly.

The three adults found themselves in the elegant hallway with it's mahogany molding and it's rose-colored walls. The staircase beside them was long, straight and wide and there were at least a dozen glass-framed family photographs lining the wall that carried on to the second floor.

"You're home is lovely, Mrs. Philby."

"Thank you." Molly smiled, the shy boy still hiding behind her.

As Mrs. Watchit's blue eyes continued to admire the well-kept home, they accidentally landed upon a dark haired boy dressed in a red knit sweater who's brown eyes were hidden behind the golden rim of his round spectacles.

"And who's this wee little lad?"

"Jamie, aren't you going to say hello to Mrs. Watchit?" David asked, chuckling lightly to himself., his hands folded over his coat.

"Jamie? I know better than that. Twas' only six months ago that I saw him; and he's already grown that much taller?" Mrs. Watchit teased, trying to bring out a smile on the curious child.

Jamie grunted as his mother pushed him out into the open, his head hung down and his eyes anywhere but on the old lady before him.

"I'm not sure about taller, but perhaps a little less mannered." his mother mused, giving her son an eye.

"Hello." Jamie mumbled, not as pleased about a new member of the household as his parents were. His chubby, stout body gave him away as a younger version of David.

"Hello." Mrs. Watchit replied. "You'd better learn to smile more while I'm around." she added. "Frowning will give you wrinkles before your time."

Surprising everyone, Jamie gave her a brief but ugly face just before darting up the stairwell to his room. The slamming of his door made his mother wince with annoyance.

"JAMIE PHILBY!" Molly screeched, her hands pressed against her hips.

"I'll talk to him in a moment." David sighed.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Watchit. Jamie is really a good boy, he just doesn't take well to maids or nannies." Molly fretted.

"He'll learn to like me…_and _respect me." Mrs. Watchit said, quite sure of it all.

"Mrs. Watchit, why don't I show you to your room?" Molly suggested.

"That would be lovely."

"Here David, carry Mrs. Watchit's things."

"Alright." David said with yet another sigh.

David dropped the luggage off on the bed, leaving the two women alone to have good words.

"I'll let you two some time to unpack."

"David, don't you dare touch that dinner table!" Molly warned.

"I'm not." he said.

"And tell Jamie on your way out to get ready for supper."

"Yes, dear." he replied, leaving the room.

"Mrs. Watchit, since this is your first night in our home, I took it upon myself to make a fine dinner and I thought you would like to sit at the table with us as a guest."

"That's very kind of you Mrs. Philby, but if you would; I'd like to start my work afterwards by cleaning the dishes. My old hands have gone too long neglecting the habit of their old duties."

"If you insist." Molly smiled, amused by how eager to work the old woman seemed.

Their previous maid had complained so much about Jamie that they had to let her go. Perhaps Mrs. Watchit would be different and maybe Jamie would straighten up too. Maybe this woman would jerk a gentle knot in the boy, and maybe he'd quit tracking through the house, forgetting to push his chair in and quit bringing wild rats into his room, trying to keep them as 'secretive pets'.

The dinner table was a welcoming sight with it's roasted ham, buttered bread, cranberry sauce and boiled rice.

"Molly has made a shepherd's pie for dessert." David smiled with pleasure as he cut into the ham.

"Sounds lovely." Mrs. Watchit smiled.

"Ah, shepherd's pie." Molly said, shaking her head. "It's David's favorite thing about me."

"So I hear." Mrs. Watchit added, giving David a glare.

"Oh nonsense." David said with an awkward grin.

"Come now, David. I was only teasing." Molly assured him with a light laugh ringing in her vocals.

"And you're rather good at that too, dear." he stated.

"Well thank you." Molly said. "Now will you please bless the food, Mr. Philby?"

"Of course, Mrs. Philby." he replied, clearing his throat and bowing his head. Everyone else did the same.

"Thank you Lord for this wonderful meal that we are yet to taste. We ask that you bless the dearly beloved hands that prepared it…"

Molly blushed.

"…And we are also grateful that Mrs. Watchit has come to stay with us in the time being. She is a dear friend and I pray that she will be content in the Philby house. And I pray also that our dear Jamie, stubborn as he is, will learn to love our new House Keeper. Amen."

"And may you always watch over Alexander, wherever he may be. Amen." Mrs. Watchit added.

"Amen." Everyone reiterated.

The dinner was good; a real comfort to the empty stomach, but there was one thing missing at this dinner table…another Professor.

"This is a fine meal. It's just a shame that…Oh, it isn't important." Mrs. Watchit sighed.

"Tell us." David pressed, biting into the ham.

"It's just, I miss preparing meals for Alexander. Seeing him dig in and hearing his compliments were… they made me feel…"

"You loved him like a grandson, didn't you?" Molly asked.

"I'm afraid it didn't take long for him to grow on me; but things changed."

"I know." David sighed. "Alex wasn't the same man after Emma's death. You know, it's rather funny; two weeks ago he was supposed to have dinner here with us."

"He was so distraught over Emma. I believe that we all were. Ah, she was a fine young Lass." Mrs. Watchit said gravely.

"Bless her soul." Molly added, her blue eyes in a grievous trance as she absentmindedly held the empty fork close to her lips. "She was a nice girl."

"A nice girl indeed." Mrs. Watchit added.

"And he was a fine man. He had his whole life ahead of him; a Professor at Columbia University." David said. "It's just a shame that things turned for the worse. They could have had a family by now, and he might have even been promoted…maybe even become world-renowned for one of those ridiculous inventions of his." There was a chuckle in him and a sparkle in his eye.

"And this past Christmas I spent without him." Mrs. Watchit sighed.

"Christmas?" Molly asked, raising a brow.

"Ah, he hasn't enjoyed it since Emma's tragic death." the old woman replied.

"Mother, father, this is boring. Can't we discuss something that doesn't involve someone dying?" Jamie protested.

"Jamie! Shame on you!" Molly snapped.

"That's very discourteous, Jamie. You remember Mr. Hartdegen; he was always kind to you." David added.

"The boy is right." Mrs. Watchit said, bringing three pairs of surprised eyes upon her. "This is a merry meal, and it deserves to be savored by merry hearts, not heavy ones."

"Good for you, Mrs. Watchit!" David said at length. "Our Alex wouldn't have us dwelling on such things anyhow."

Mrs. Watchit gave a wink to Jamie, and he couldn't help but give her a mischievous yet welcoming grin.

The following conversation was of happy times and jolly humor, and in her heart Mrs. Watchit knew she would continue to miss Alexander as would everyone who knew him well; but there was still hope for her to be happy with the Philbys.

Sitting at the dinner table and sharing fond stories and a delicious meal with these folk told her that she had made the right decision by taking David's offer. And David had come to the conclusion that bowler hats did him no justice after all. He could thank Alex for that.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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**A/N: **So now we know what happened to Mrs. Watchit after David offered for her to come and stay with them. Also, I found a site that explained that Alex left his time on February 3rd of 1903, so with that said it contradicted my original Christmas theme for this chapter and I decided it to be best to remove that little bit. Otherwise, nothing else has been changed.


	3. Chapter III: A Whole New World

**CHAPTER III: A Whole New World**

The canoe gliding through the water was as smooth as a bird's flight through midair. The paddles gently swashing along was almost a melody.

The canyon's river was deep, but near the shoreline it was clear, revealing the hiding places of the brown sand and the countless stone pebbles where tiny fish made their home.

In the midst of the waters, one could see alert movements of glowing blue - the tiny fish from the Morlock Caverns. After the destruction of the Sphinx, they must have been forced to find a home elsewhere, hiding within rocks and only peering out at nightfall. Going by the Professor's assumptions, they were nocturnal due to their obvious evolvement in the dim caves.

He rowed along, often catching small glimpses of the tiny blue swimmers and wondering to himself if they too, like him, would be able to adapt and adjust to this new environment.

The day was nearing it's end and the sun's rays were only partially peering over the mountains now, saying a final goodbye until tomorrow's return.

The Professor was alone, beside himself. He was venturing out to the Stone Gallery, albeit late as it was, to speak with his good friend, Vox the Photonic.

He recalled what news Kalen had brought him after a long day of listening to another one of Vox's lessons;

"_Alexander, Vox said he wanted to show you something at the Stone Gallery_."

"_And what would that be_?"

"_He would not tell me. He only said for me to tell you to go there as soon as possible…it is in-important_." the boy stuttered slightly in his English. "_But he wants you to go alone_."

Alexander was indeed overtaken by curiosity, wondering what it could be that Vox wanted to see him about. He hoped it would not be of anything grim.

In the passing of minutes, Alex found himself wandering away from the canoe and to the Gallery, easing his way through the jungle with only the company of one of the Eloi lanterns. The glowing light bugs fluttering about within it's paper cover were both a convenience and a comfort.

He wandered through the woods, remembering the trail that he had memorized well. The leaves of the trees gently whipped against his face as he pushed aside low hanging branches and carried on over stumps and stones. Trailing through these woods had strangely rekindled a distant childhood memory.

He recalled once, when he was a boy, of how he and some friends had found adventure in Central Park, amusing themselves in an imaginative world of pirates that only a child could see. Then the game got out of control when one of his friends began using stones for canon balls and one of them had bounced off the back of a policeman's head…The rest was history, or as a parent would put it; no playing for a week.

He came to a stone hill. Slipping his shoes within the crevasses of the rock, he began to climb his way over with the lantern dangling heavily in his mouth. He winced as he bared his teeth onto the handle, struggling to keep the lantern in his oral grip and keep his stability on the sloping rocky wall all the while. His steps were awkward, but easier than the first venture to this place when Mara had offered to give him a tour, showing him where her parents and all before had learnt the Stone Language...Living with a native tribe in such a time and place had been a chance for him to learn better use of his strong limbs at least, he reminded himself.

Alexander pulled himself up, now standing on a small pathway that trailed along the small cliff from which he had climbed, weaving gently down into the clearing where the Stone Gallery awaited.

Pacing downward, he took an ounce of time to glance the sky and it's almost purple haze. He could see the gathering of dim stars that would eventually grow brighter in the hours of night and in the bare distance over the mountains, the Professor could see that shattered moon, faded as it was now, making it's way to the highest peek in the atmospheric view.

Now standing in the clearing where stones of ancient New York gathered around him, he stepped closer to the glass frame of Vox's screen, moving under the bamboo shelter that had been built around it.

"…Vox?" he cleared his throat, stepping over some of the blankets left behind by the children. "Vox?"

The screen made a faint buzzing sound and a well dressed figure came into motion and sight, expressing an insightful smile.

"There you are," Alex grinned.

"Greetings." the Photonic grinned, raising his hand in a steadied 'wave' position.

"Kalen told me you wanted to see me about something."

"Indeed I do."

Alex found comfort on a red blanket laid out before the Photonic. He sat, laying the lantern beside him and allowing one arm to dangle over his one raised knee.

"How's it coming along…the lessons?"

"Not as bad as I thought. Right now they seem more intrigued by fairytales and folklore than anything else, which can be annoying since we still haven't yet moved on to a good history lesson. I _have _managed to take over the teachings of English and they've caught on to that quite fast. I assume what Mara has managed to cram into them has indeed made it easier for me." The Photonic chuckled lightly, folding his hands together.

"I'm glad they have you. I don't think _I_ could possibly teach them everything there is to know by myself, and I only know so much as far as history is concerned." Alex commented, a small chuckle ringing in his own vocals.

"I agree to that. As clever as you scientists were back then, you don't have the capacity of remembrance that _I _have." Vox said, pointing toward his noggin.

"I suppose I'll have to agree to that gesture. Only a Photonic could remember a kid asking him about dinosaurs in a library eons ago, not to mention surviving long enough to tell the tale."

"True. So, have you taken to this humid climate better than I have? I often wonder how anything could evolve in such a place and manage to exist."

Alexander eased back, almost closing his eyes as if searching for some ounce of comfort.

"The thick humid jungles, living on the edge of a canyon wall…" the Professor sighed. "I think I'm starting to get use to it. Though I do miss my old life, more than you can ever imagine."

With a Photonic like Vox, it was not difficult to suddenly forget he wasn't flesh and blood and refer to him as one would any human being. Even with the enjoyable company of Mara and Kalen, Vox was really the only intelligent life form who knew enough to understand Alexander's point of view.

"Yes…I too miss the comfort of the New York Public Library." Vox sighed, his eyes rolling over the un-delightful bamboo shelter that hung over them. "I miss school children inquiring about history and needing my help for a school report. I miss having to locate a certain book or pull up information on shortcuts to Brooklyn Bridge. I miss the company of the janitors, and even the senile old lady who kept asking me where the lady's room was. But I am thankful to be of use again. I've been stiff in that 'cave' for too long, and I won't deny that these people have grown on me - even if they are still convinced that I am in fact a _ghost_."

A momentary silence cut between them as they rekindled memories of a world lost to them. The joy of a past life was an overwhelming sensation of both happiness and longing sadness, even for a Photonic.

"Well, I suppose you would like for me to explain why I called you here." Vox spoke at length.

"Yes, yes I would." his words had shook Alexander from the dark thoughts that were slowly boiling in his mind just in time's sake.

"I thought I'd share with you some interesting information concerning the moon and some images I have that date back to 2037." Now there was an excitement in Vox's tone. "Would you like to view them?"

"Of course." Alex stood to his feet, now admiring the images that Vox displayed on the screen.

"This one here was taken by a few tourists during a vacation."

"A vacation…" Alex mused. "I never would've thought that man would take a trip to the moon. They're amazing."

"They did more than take mere vacations. People were living there. Golf courses, fishing, nightclubs… Lunar Leisure Living," Vox sneered. "_The future is now_…ridiculous in a way."

The Photonic flashed another photo onto the screen.

"What's this?" the Professor inquired.

"The Lunar Greenhouse. Scientists were successfully growing vegetation in this dome."

"Why on earth, or the moon, would they want to? Couldn't they…have it transported; food I mean?"

"The moon was colonized. People were living there." Vox explained. "Man wanted to make the moon as livable as possible, Alexander. Here's a picture of the military base."

Alexander stood back, relieving his arched back as well as his mind from the excitement the photographs had brought.

"Remarkable…even if it did end humanity, it is by far one of the most remarkable things I've ever come to know of." he spoke in awe. "I'd like to know more about this, Vox."

"I actually had something else I wanted to show you tonight. I think you'll be even more amazed by this. Prepare to be filled with wonder, my friend…Last night when I was lingering in the Library Ruins, I picked up what appeared to be a satellite signal from space."

"A satellite signal?" Alex furrowed his brows.

"It was an old civilian satellite. It surprised me because I had no clue that anything of the sort was still floating out there, much less be in good enough condition for me to record data from it. It must have passed over the ruins from space which would explain my detection of it."

"What sort of data did you collect?"

"Well, I cleverly used it to transport recent images of earth for me to store in my files. It took me all night, but it was well worth it. I'm just glad the thing was still in working condition enough for me to be successful." the Photonic expressed himself a bit immodestly, something he had a habit of doing; but who wouldn't feel so boastful of them self when they held all human knowledge?

"Let's see them." Alex was as anxious as a blind man who was about to see the world around him for the first time in ages.

"Now processing." Vox read. "Upload complete." He finished in the time of five minutes.

With the raising of one Photonic hand, an image dashed onto the screen like magic before the Professor's eyes. Alexander nearly gasped in his astonishment, a pleasured smile slowly painting it's way onto his face.

"The continents have changed even more than I had assumed." he uttered, fixated on the global image on the glass screen as it spun slowly. It's motion gave the aura of actually being there in space, seeing all that there was to this 'new earth'.

"Well, why not zoom in to have a closer look?" Vox suggested.

"Absolutely! Let us see New York, or what's become of it."

The Photonic paused the motioned image, and as the professor watched, it zoomed into the distant view of a lush jungle on a piece of land breaking off like an island where a river cut through. This was Alexander's New York.

"So this is it? This is where we live…" he spoke, talking more to _himself_ than anything. "Can you get closer?"

"That's as close as it will get to a jungle." Voxexplained. "And without any live humans around to customize this feature, you can't expect any better quality than that."

"It's a shame that we can't have a closer look at the village." the Professor mused, slipping his hands into the boundaries of his pants pockets.

"Would you like to see something else, say, the Grand Canyon?" Vox asked.

"I would."

The image began to rotate and slide, flying over to the opposite side of the country.

"As you can see, the Grand Canyon is now thirteen times the size it was in _your_ time."

Alex knelt over to eye the image closer, gripping his knees absentmindedly as he viewed it. The Photonic slid the global image to another sight.

"Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas, is now around fifty eight thousand feet tall. In the early twenty first century it was approximately eight thousand, eight hundred and forty eight meters or twenty nine thousand and twenty eight feet above sea level, just to give you an ideal of how much it's changed."

Alexander was brought to another view of the earth.

"There are now ten craters in New Mexico. They're two hundred feet in diameter."

"My God." Alex let out. "I wonder how and when they were made."

"Who knows? I couldn't gather that sort of information from the satellite. But judging by their size, I'd say they could've been made around 600,000 A.D., but I'm only guessing." Vox suggested, somewhat unsure of himself.

"Brilliant, despite your limits. Too bad you can't tell how many people are still in existence." Alexander rose up, now studying the Photonic's face.

"Are you finished looking?"

"For now I guess. I'd like to see more tomorrow, when there's better lighting of course."

"I wish I could have called you out sooner but I had to wait for the appearance of the Eloi before I could send the message."

"I understand." Alex smiled.

"I'm sure we're not the only ones here. Or so I've always liked to tell myself." the Photonic said, referring to Alexander's comment on other human life.

The images of earth had astonished Alexander, engaged his curiosity even further; but what if they _were_ alone? The question still plagued him and the longing feeling of missing a life once lived had crossed him yet again. It felt like they were in one little world on the walls of a canyon that swept down from the mountains and fell into a river leading into an ocean unknown.

"_A whole new world_..." he uttered.

"I'm sorry?" Vox had not quite caught onto the words.

"Oh nothing. Just thinking out loud. Did you gather any further information concerning the planet's geography?"

"Yes, as a matter-of-fact, I did. The continents are somewhat smaller now with mountains standing taller and with a greater abundance of water. The earth has pretty much redeveloped itself since the Lunar catastrophe in 2037. But I've discovered that, sadly, the Great Pyramids of Egypt have been buried beneath sand and where the Roman Coliseum once was, well, let's just say that it's more than likely to be no more than ruins in the ocean now."

"I see. You didn't catch a glimpse of any possible cities that may still be inhabited?"

"Not from what I could tell. If there _are_any cities, they're in ruins. I doubt you'll find anything more civilized than this colony right here." the Photonic added grimly.

He took a moment to dwell on the last words the Photonic had spoken. It was indeed more than likely to be fact that the Eloi, as they called themselves, were as advanced as man had grown for the time being. Apparently, Alexander and Vox were their only hope to rebuild humanity, to teach them and learn them and to build. And building was something they had started. It was progressing slowly, and, often in crablike fashion. At least that was how it seemed. There were still so many things that needed to be done. The Library Ruins still needed revamping, and the Stone Gallery still needed work itself. The bamboo shelter was only temporary. In a way, it was overwhelming; maybe more so than the creation of the Time Machine had been. After all, Alexander was an inventor, not a contractor.

"I suppose I should head back." the Professor said at last. "I don't want Mara and Kalen to worry too much over my absence."

"Didn't you tell them you were leaving?"

"Oh yes, but I've found that they rather dislike any long length of distance between us."

"If you come back tomorrow, I'll show you where an old military base was."

"Then I shall come back. I'd like to ask you a few things about some people from my past as well. It would be nice to know what happened to some of my old friends…Philby, maybe my family, and perhaps even Einstein."

"Einstein?" the Photonic furrowed his brows. "The only Einstein I would have data on would be the most famed genius mind of all time..._besides myself_."

"Genius? He and I use to exchange letters, sharing theories and…"

The Photonic revealed an image of an old man.

"Would this be the Einstein you knew?" Vox asked with skepticism.

As Alexander read the brief biography, his eyes widened with sudden astonishment and a smile crept onto his face.

"I'll be damned. That's him. He was a German patent clerk when I knew him; of course we never met in person only, through our letters."

"How on earth did you become aware of him?"

"Oh, it's quite a story, Vox. Perhaps tomorrow we can talk about it."

"I'll be sure to remind you."

"Fair enough. I'd like to read more about him." the Professor smiled. "I shall see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight…and, live long and prosper."

"I'll try."

Walking home in the dark of night with his lantern still at hand, Alexander thought to himself of just how time really had changed the past. Who would've known that Albert would become a renowned genius? And who would've known that Alexander would build a machine and travel through time only to find that his own destiny would be to save mankind from extinction? Well, only one man would ever know that; and that was he himself and maybe God. Then his mind began to dwell on the moment during his time traveling, when he was first alerted of the destruction of the moon.

~TTT~

_He had left the New York Public Library, deciding that he would venture forward to find the answer as to why one could not change the past; but the machine suddenly vibrated, jerked, and the scene before him had brought the Time Traveler to stop the machine briefly in hopes of deciphering this grim sight before him._

_There were sirens in the distance, echoing through the dark streets. The gravel was broken and there was the coming sound of a woman on a radio. And then came the bright lights of the vehicles that brought him to shield his eyes; then moving figures began to close in on him in a haste, talking loudly as they crowded him._

_"Sir, where is your designated evacuation center?" demanded a soldier._

_"Sir, you are subject to arrest under martial law." said the other._

_"Please put your hands out, palms together. You will be held in detention until your evacuation center clears you for transport." said the first._

_"Wait! Wait!" Alexander attempted, but the soldiers cuffed him despite his effort._

_"Just take it easy." the first soldier went on as the sirens continued to ring in the distance._

_Suddenly the ground vibrated in an earth quake fashion and the towering buildings continued to crumble._

_"Hey, we got to get out of here!" the second soldier was unnerved._

_"Wait!" Alexander revolted. "How did this happen?"_

_"The moon." the first replied. "Come on, move it."_

_"That's impossible." Alex argued. "What happened?"_

_"What?" the first questioned sarcastically. "You been living under a rock?"_

_"Yes!" Alex jerked away from their clutch. "I've been living under a rock! Now, tell me."_

_"The demolitions for the Lunar Colonies screwed up the orbit, okay? The moon's breaking up, alright? Come on." the first replied. _

_But Alexander did not allow the soldiers to take him away, and the following explosion was his chance for escape...barely._

~TTT~

A sudden rustling in the bushes had paused the Professor and he slowly raised the lantern, glancing around and hoping that the movements would be nothing more than a harmless beast, but the creature who stepped out before him was no beast and thankfully not a rogue Morlock. He was glad to say at least that he had not gone out without keeping a small knife at hand carved from a stone.

"Mara, what are _you_ doing out here?"

"I - I wanted to go with you." she said lamely.

"Go with me? You knew where I was going and that Vox wanted to see me alone. But if you wanted to come along that badly, why didn't you just... come along?" his voice had a sharpness to it that she was not use to hearing and it frightened her.

"Forgive me. I only wanted to know what he wanted to see you about."

"Mara," his tone was calmed now. "I would've told you on my return. I have no secrets to hide."

"Would you?" she seemed to doubt him.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because," she swallowed. "I am only a - I am not like you or the Photonic."

"What do you mean?"

"I do not know so many things about the world." she replied.

"Mara," he began to speak warmly, placing his palm over her shoulder. He could feel her tremble at his touch. "You're very intelligent. You're one of the most brilliant young women I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Besides, if it weren't for you, the Eloi wouldn't know the Stone Language half as well as they do."

She smiled, allowing herself to move closer to his side. Male compliments were a rarity to her ears.

"Come on, let's go home." he said.

In the moonlight they rowed back, their canoes side by side in the darkness. Every now and then he found his eyes wandering towards her, thinking and taking her in all at once. She was beautiful; her long ebony hair, chocolate eyes and dark bronzed skin that proved her existence in a tropical climate. She was something new to him, something rare. She had an innocence about her like that of a child; the way she giggled, the way she smiled, but at the same time, she was a woman.

Mara could feel his stare upon her. She wondered if he noticed how she trembled at his touch, how she found it difficult to tear her eyes away from him, how she loved to fold his clothes, serve him food and in general be close to him. There was nothing wild in his mild blue eyes, those eyes that captivated her. He was unlike anything she had ever seen. Ever since the day she had found him he had fascinated her and pressed her curiosity, and there were still so many things about this man that she did not know.

For one thing, she didn't know that he had went into a solitary world of his own, locking himself within the walls of his laboratory, obsessing over the completion of a machine for four miserable years. He had driven everyone away; his family, his friends. But now, to her, he seemed so full of life and passion. Though she was however, well aware of the despair he had brought along with him. She wondered what he thought, what might be going through his mind when he gazed at the stars. She wondered, or perhaps hoped, that maybe somehow he was thinking of her.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

**A/N: **My apology for the slow updates. Special thanks to my brother for the idea of Vox's findings.


	4. Chapter IV: The Hunt Begins

**CHAPTER IV: The Hunt Begins**

Toren crushed his way through the jungle, sobbing, straining, cursing his luck, the canoe, the clever fish, the loss of his net…the Time Traveler.

He was one who sobbed like a woman, one who whimpered like a cowardly dog that had took a beating from a wolf. He was one to hide his true feelings, to curse and run, to begin a fight but never finish it. And to top off these traits, he had a real selfish streak; a possessive nature.

The women folk were indeed appreciated, respected and cared for; but they had not the equality of a man. A woman, like a child, had her place in this colony; to cook, to harvest, to work with needle and thread and to weave. They did no fishing, no hunting and no brave tasks. If they did, they were shunned by not only the men folk, but by the other more hen-pecked women.

Toren had deep feelings for Mara. Like so many others, he thought her to be beautiful and desirable and it was true that she was. But he despised her for her stubbornness, her rebelling against his dominating attempts. He had wanted to break her, albeit gently, to tame and make this woman his own, his property, the mother of his sons. Yes, with Mara he would have many sons, no daughters, only strong bodied braves to follow in their father's footsteps; and maybe Kalen would also have the male influence he so desperately needed.

For some time, it might have seemed that all of this was falling into place as Toren had planned. He had been there for Mara and Kalen after the seizing of their parents' souls. He had sheltered them and brought them fish from the river, repaired their hovel. At long last, Mara had seemed to be playing well into his hands, assuming to herself that he would be the best catch of the colony. He did after all care for her, and his skill was unmatched by the other fishermen. And he would have had her if not for that unpromising day, that day when the 'stranger' came to their land.

As much as he hated to admit it to himself, Toren would be a fool to deny the true statement that he was all in all grateful that this brave man had come and demolished their enemy; but this gratefulness did not hide the jealous feelings that torched the Eloi's emotions day by day, night by night.

He was well in the woods now, maybe a mile of steps from the Monument Grounds. He had found a resting place on a bed of soft sand that gathered round a small, water-filled creek bed.

As he gathered a handful of tiny pebbles, he thought as the clatter of the slowly released stones died away. In his trepidation, the young warrior felt a great deal of uneasiness about the future event that was yet to come. _The hunt_.

The startling thought of Mara being left alone for so long with only the company of the one man he resented most had given him a gut knot. But then, in the break of the moment, a thought came to mind and his stomach was relieved of the qualms he felt.

What if the Time Traveler was, among the others, chosen to go along with the hunting party? Why not? He would be living here. He would need to learn all there was to learn about being an Eloi.

The other men folk had had no intension of choosing the Time Traveler, as they called him, to go along on their journey; but now Toren had other ideals, and the cursing left his tongue as his emotions were filled with new ambitions; to get the competition out of the way for the sake of a woman's love.

~TTT~

"Toren, quo getra mri?" the other men questioned his absence.

"Eg naktaka lo' nodada huntra pak." Toren said, informing them that he had a promising suggestion for their hunting party.

The other three men were apprehensive, all of them seated round the warmth of a small fire pit laid with stones, roasting their fish over the flames; but Toren took his seat among them and they listened, and at last they were convinced that Alexander did indeed need to learn the ways of the men folk. He had been spending too much time with women and children and mindful _Ghosts_, Toren told them.

_I shall learn him. When Mara sees how incapable he is of hunting food for winter, she will know that the better choice of mate is with me_, he thought, inauspiciously.

The visions of a loyal, beautiful wife and many sons danced merrily through his head. Their children would be fine featured, intelligent like their mother and strong like their father. They would have dark skin, dark eyes and ebony hair like Mara's. No bewitching blue eyes would they have like that of the Time Traveler's.

Mara would be his, as she belonged. His alone to love and claim. Never again would the wrong man touch her. He would make this clear to the Time Traveler; that Mara's place was _not_ with _him_.

~TTT~

"Alexander! Alexander!"

Startled on the bridge that lapped over the river below, the Professor jubilantly acknowledged Kalen's rush.

"Alexander!" the boy beamed again, breathlessly clutching the rope-railing of the wavering bridge.

"Kalen, what on earth?" the Professor smiled, curious as to what the boy wanted.

"Vox gave an in-interpresting," Kalen winced at his wording, "No, I mean, _interesting_ lesson about New York!"

"Really? And what of New York?"

"It was a lesson on how New York was built, how the settlers came, the people who wanted to live in - America, and how they came to New York on great boats. He showed us images that move and some of them had no color. And there were images of uh…what did New Yorkers watch in theatres again?"

"Picture shows?"

"Yes! That's it! And there was one about _Alice In Wonderland _and it made all of us laugh."

"And it was a picture show?"

"Yes. But it had no sound or color, only words. Vox read them to us."

"What else did you learn?"

"Well, Vox showed us images that did not move of Central Park and the Times Square. The pictures were from your time, and there was a picture of a…street I think, and there were all these people and there were these things called vehicles that moved and took people places. I think some of them were called Trolleys. Oh, and there were carriages that were pulled by big beasts."

"Horses."

"Yes! That's it! It was amazing. I wish we could build some." the boy said, thoughtfully, and Alexander laughed. "Tomorrow we're going to learn about the settlers that went out west and about a Civil War."

"Yes, my Father fought in the Civil War."

"Really? Tell me about it."

"I think it would be wiser to wait until Vox has the chance to explain what the Civil War was, then afterwards _I_ shall tell you about my father's stories."

"Everything?"

"Everything." he smiled, roughing the boy's unruly hair.

Both of them leaned against the railing, scanning over the landscape below, the river, the canoes and the cozy hovels that the Eloi dwelled in.

With the wind seeping through the air, he nearly missed the long, solemn sigh that escaped Kalen's breath not to mention the yearning expression upon him. The boy looked to be buried within troublesome thoughts, perhaps grievous ones. Alex knew this expression well, because it was one that he commonly carried around himself.

"Something on your mind, Kalen?"

Kalen sighed again, straightening up on the bridge and dancing his fingertips on the rope-rails.

"I do not know." he muttered grimly. Then his eyes shot up at the man beside him and a question slipped from his curious lips. "Alexander, is your father still alive?"

Now Alexander knew what was on the boy's mind. He hoped that the mention of his father being in war had not upset the boy into missing his own, who, he in fact knew, had been eaten by the Morlocks.

"Well, yes. But I hadn't been as close to my father, or the rest of my family and friends as I should've been. You see Kalen, I lost someone who was dear to me, and after her death I…I stopped caring for the company of others."

"But why?"

"I don't know I guess. I suppose I was buried in my own little world, trying to figure out how to finish the time machine so that I could…save her."

"But you couldn't. You came here instead."

"Indeed I did."

"Do you regret it? If you had the machine, would you go back?"

"I don't regret it."

"But if you still had your machine, would you go back to your friends and family? To your mother and father?"

"Well," the Professor hesitated, trying to choose his words wisely. "I might go back to visit them, let them all know that I'm okay; but afterwards I would return."

"Really?" There was hope in the boy's vocals, hope that Alexander was being truthful to him, that he _would_ return.

"Really, Kalen." The sincerity in Alexander's warm smile and comforting blue eyes gave the boy a good deal of assurance. "I do miss my old life, but now that I'm here with you and Mara, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Alexander?"

"Yes?"

"Do you -"

"Do I what?"

"Nothing." the boy smiled. "It is nothing."

"You were going to ask me something; what is it?"

Kalen stuttered, biting his lip. "Uh…"

"Kalen! Kalen! Toka cor'!" The calling of youthful voices was the escape that the boy needed.

"Sorry. I have to go!" he shrugged and ran away, leaving the Professor alone as he joined a small group of boys waiting for him at the end of the bridge.

"I wonder what he was going to…"

"Who knows with Kalen?" a voice shadowed over his. The Professor rounded himself to see a youthful female, perhaps fifteen, standing behind him clad in white gauze about her legs and a colorful shawl draped over her shoulders. Her hair was thick, long and kinky in it's brown color. She had good features like all of the Eloi and she was young, though the Professor didn't know her. In her arms she held a basket of cloth, but not for laundry, it was being used as a nest for three tiny strange birds, babies to his assumptions, but the size of grown pigeons.

"I don't believe I've met you." he said.

"Because you have not." she smiled brightly, her English strong and fluent; not like his own, but better than most Eloi. It was like that of Mara and Kalen's. "I am Isra."

"Isra," he stepped forward, reaching out to shake the girl's hand. She sized down her smile, though still maintaining it, and furrowed her brows at him. Noticing this look, Alexander felt foolish after a minute and took back his hand.

"Oh, how silly of me." he tried for a smile of his own to hide his embarrassment. "You're holding something. Here, can I help you carry it?"

"I can handle the weight." she assured him. "Can I ask, did you want to take my hand?"

"Yes. I wasn't thinking really. Just habit I guess. Whenever I meet someone new I, tend to shake their hands."

"It is how you greet others?"

"Yes."

"I see." she smiled. "You come from strange culture. I should like to learn more of it."

"Then I'll have to share some of with you. Perhaps one day you and Kalen can listen to some of my stories."

"Yes." she sighed. "I do envy Mara and Kalen. They are my friends but…I do not have an interesting - New Yorker, is it? - who shares a home with me."

For the first time, he began to study the girl closely, and to his discovery he noticed that one of her eyes was a milky, grayish blue.

"What happened to your eye?" he asked, pointing absentmindedly toward his own in reference to hers.

"Oh." she looked down into the basket of chirping chicks. His question caught her off guard and he could tell.

"Forgive me, Isra, I didn't mean to,"

"No, I do not mind. It was damaged by a Morlock. It hit me in the eye when I was little, I have no sight there."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I have many scars. I am self-conscious. The Morlock who attacked me, nearly got the better of me, though my father saved me, losing his own life as he fought."

"Well, you're still a lovely girl."

She smiled again at him, flattered by his kindness.

"You are so much nicer than Eloi men. They are so rude."

Alexander laughed at this.

"I see you another time." she smiled, beginning her walk.

"Hold up just a moment there, Isra."

She eyed him curiously as he came over to study the contents of her basket.

"What are those little birds for?"

"Oh." Isra smiled. "I am taking care of them. Like me, they lost their parents to a predator. I will set them free when they are strong."

"I see. What do you call them?"

"Not _birds_." she explained. "Guacanos."

"Guacanos." he reiterated. "They're beautiful."

"But they make many noise." Isra laughed. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Isra. Nice meeting you."

~TTT~

"I spoke to a friend of your's today." he began while sitting around the comfort of the bamboo dinner table with Mara and Kalen. "Isra."

"Isra?" Mara questioned. "She spoke to you?"

"Yes, why?" he asked, curious as to what Mara meant by her doubtful tone.

"She is shy. She hardly talks to anyone. Especially men folk."

"She was carrying a basket of little birds, Guacanos, and she told me about her eye."

"Her eye?" Mara asked, still in disbelief. "That is unlike her. She is very secretive. It is why I have not yet introduced her to you. She has hard time adjusting to strangers."

"Really? She appeared rather outgoing to me."

"She must like you, then." Mara concluded. "What else did you talk about?"

"Just, a little bit here and there. She mentioned to me about the loss of her father and she said she wouldn't mind learning more about my culture."

"What did you say?"

"I told her that maybe one day I could give her and Kalen a good story on New York."

"Yes! Do please!" Kalen beamed. Alex gave him a wink.

Mara leaned up from her bowl, suddenly pushing it away and exhaling a long bought of breath. Her eyes looked troubled and Alexander reckoned there to be something on her mind, something she didn't like.

"I do not know if you will tell stories for now." she said solemnly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, concerned.

"I heard some of the other men talking today by the river. They said that,"

"What Mara? Tell me what they said."

She bit her lip.

"They said," she went on. "that you would be leaving on the hunt." with this she wailed up into a frightening outbreak of tears and she jolted up from the table, heading upstairs to the balcony.

"Mara, Mara!" But she ignored him. "Stay here, Kalen."

Kalen remained at the table, already knowing why his sister was upset. He wished that he could offer her some comfort in knowing that all would be well, but to be honest, Kalen wasn't so sure himself. He would be leaving too, his first hunt, sadly without his father, and Mara would be here alone without knowing if whether or not he would be safe.

"Mara?" Alexander climbed the ladder, pulling himself up on the rail and finding her grieving heavily, her face buried into her knees. "Mara, don't cry." he knelt beside her, fitting his hand on her upper back, feeling her smooth hair against his skin. "Please don't cry. I'll just tell them I don't want to go. I've already been thinking about telling them that maybe Kalen is too young." he tried to cheer her.

"You do not know." she sobbed. "You cannot choose. When they say you go, you must go. And Kalen is only a boy and he could be hurt."

"Hey," he found her cheek, and brought her to look at him, fitting both palms against the sides of her smooth face that was now damp with tears. "Even if we do go, everything will be alright."

"But what about Kalen? He does not have father to protect him now."

"He has me, remember? I'm strong and I'll protect him with my life. He won't be out of my sight for one minute. If I can handle Morlocks, not to mention their leader, I can handle a hunting trip."

"You don't have your machine to battle such beasts with."

"Well what on earth's out there anyway?"

"You take this lightly. You do not know. You haven't been to the mountains."

"Mara, I need you to have faith in me. If Kalen and I must go, then so be it. But I want you to know that we'll fair. We'll be just fine, alright?"

She studied him, checking to see how sincere his eyes were. When she felt satisfied, she gave him a nod and he helped dry her swollen eyes with the cuffs of his sleeve.

For a while, she remained close to him, studying him and then the choker around his neck, given to him at the ceremony held in his honor after the destruction of the caverns and Mara's rescue. Gently, she stroked the pearl-shiny shells dangling from the woven leather, admiring how it looked about his strong neck. She could hear him swallow and she could sense the sudden tension seizing throughout his body. His eyes dashed away from the sight of her, and she knew he wanted to dash away from her touch just as well. She had not meant to make him feel so unnerved by her, but the idea of him being uncomfortable around her had hurt her feelings in some way. Why was he like this so suddenly? Perhaps he was full of fear himself right now and a woman's touch could bring him no comfort, or maybe he was still feeling some guilt over Emma, questioning himself if whether or not he was betraying her. If time was what he needed then Mara would easily wait. He was worth it from what she had seen. She certainly hadn't expected him to risk everything to go after her after her capture, much less bring her out alive and give to her a second chance that she would've never had to begin with had it not been for him. Too few Eloi men would do that, if any.

Kalen was still sitting, still thinking. All this month he had boasted in front of his sister of how badly he wanted to go, telling her that he was in fact ready to become a warrior, a hunter. Yes, the Morlocks were not the only hunters here. When the fall season came, the Eloi would venture to the mountains, never too far from the village, but far enough to catch a great deal of meat and bring it back for preserving for the winter when meat and fish and vegetation were harder to come by; but secretly the boy was frightened, frightened of growing up and facing the things he feared most…the world outside. But to let Mara know he was afraid would be a terrible mistake. So, he swallowed his emotions and prepared himself to face what lied ahead.

Only a week before their leave.

~TTT~

The beating of the drums were heavy. It was a symphony that sang power and courage, though Kalen and most of the other boys felt anything but.

They all sat around the fire, the young boys, the young men, allowing the chief hunters to paint their faces with marks of black. Alexander felt almost out of place sitting here amongst this hunting party, but refusal to cooperate had been useless, and if he allowed the others to think him a coward, he could easily be removed from the colony. That's what Kalen told him.

Mara watched from the seated group of females, cringing as one man marked Kalen. She hated this worse than anything. To her, it was more of a death sentence than a hunting trip, especially for a mere child. She wanted to yell out, put it all to a stop before it began, take Kalen and Alexander home and keep them there under her watchful eye forever, but she held her tongue and reminded herself continuously of her place in this society.

The touch of a soft hand coiling around hers made her jump slightly, but when she saw that it was Isra, she relaxed and embraced her grip. The two held hands as the ceremony continued.

Some of the men stood to the back, circling around the area with torches and spears in case some ravenous thing wanted to make an attack. The flames of the fires roared like the breath of an angered dragon, or so they seemed to the children who had developed a fascination in Vox's fairy tales.

The drums continued to beat, getting only louder by each pounding sound they made. In the light of the flames, Alexander cast his eyes upon Mara, who's face read: _Fear._

"All will be well." Isra whispered to her in the dark, but the words seemed to slip through her ears in utter silence because Mara heard nothing.

The hunt would soon begin.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	5. Chapter V: Survive

**CHAPTER V: Survive**

"Tocreta um, denora hin." Toren spoke.

"Jarac fin gula u'k, traca tremola' do una den." Alon, one of the chief hunters, spat out a large thorn that had clustered cruelly into the bottom of his foot.

It was midday halt. The large party grouped around the fire beginning their meager meal of scorched fish jerky.

Alexander sat near to the back, listening carefully and trying to grip their words, to reckon their speech. Kalen, who sat beside him, chewed quietly, not seeming to pay any mind to the conversations spoke around them, the conversations of which they cared not for the ears of the 'outsider' to hear.

Toren rambled on and Alon laughed while the others nodded in willing agreement. Alexander furrowed his brows, still saturated in his curiosity. The way they glanced him made him suspect that their conversation was indeed about him, other than the thorn of course.

"Kalen," he whispered. "What are they saying?"

"They are saying that you and I will not last another sunrise." the boy said, matter-of-factly. "Especially you." he added with a disappointing sigh.

Alexander did not reply, nor find words worthy for comment. He instead exhaled, trying to relax himself, and began rummaging the contents of the leather bag at his feet fingering for the dry, brittle jerky.

Bearing his teeth into the meat, the Professor noticed the cold stare of Toren. The Eloi seemed to scowl at him, watching every bite enviously, or so it appeared. Alexander attempted to ignore him, to carry on in his meal, but the staring remained, never letting up for a moment. Whatever thought was going through that warrior's mind the Professor knew not, but he assumed that they weren't kind thoughts.

Then, to his relief, Toren's staring came to an end just as quickly as it had begun, and the young man rekindled the dying flame of the fire laboriously before returning to his endearing conversations with Alon.

Alexander felt alone, like a man stranded on a native island, trying his very best to fit in amongst these strange people, finding only comfort and friendship in a child's heart and a kind young girl back home. Here he was among many strong, well-built men, their bald heads, bare chests, their markings that presented many successful hunts - he honestly felt out of place, continuously asking himself why on earth they meant for him to go along - but he was glad to be here beside Kalen. If the boy must go, then he needed protection, and besides that Alexander needed a translator - apparently Toren and the others had agreed to speak over him, around him, past him; but never to him.

He looked down, staring at his suspenders and his white shirt that had been mended at Mara's hands twice. Then he rendered the worn appearance of his pants and his withered shoes. His clothes were clean, for the time being, but he subconsciously wished that he had brought more with him during his time traveling. Mara had at least made him a fine shawl to warm himself with in the hours of night, but it was only a shawl and nothing more. Though, he suspected himself to look rather foolish gallivanting about in Eloi apparel. Perhaps on his return, Mara could somehow sew him some more button up shirts and trousers…maybe.

Alon was growing anxious, sitting there, shaking his head as if in dismay, uttering regretful words to Toren. He stood, and Toren looked befuddled as Alon came to the side of Alexander, and bellowed sharp words,

"Tera' unma mor'!"

The Professor glanced him, surprised and confused.

"Tera' unma mor'!" Alon repeated.

Alexander gave his confused eyes to Kalen, hoping that his face alone would tell the boy what he wanted; a translation.

"He wants to demonstrate." Kalen uttered.

"Demonstrate what?"

"Teclua franagta glo'!" Alon went on.

"How to throw a spear." Kalen said, a bit nervously.

Alexander watched the man, who moved swiftly to a good spot overlooking a cliff that hung gracefully over an open valley. The spear in his hand was clutched tightly, and with his back to all eyes, he relaxed himself and took a moment to meditate. Then, he thrust the spear into the air by the way of illustration. The weapon flew, and it pierced violently through a skinny tree some twenty feet away in the valley. Hands began to clap but Alex and Kalen remained quiet.

Returning to his seat near the fire, Alon gave Alexander a challenging pair of eyes as he passed him by, and once seated, all the men folk stared the Professor down as if waiting for him to act.

"They want _you_to try." Kalen said.

"What? You mean they expect _me_ to throw a spear?"

Kalen nodded.

"Well let's hope they don't expect me to hit anything." And so he did. For Alexander was not an arguable man, at least not in such situations - only in his own home was he considerately arguable and only upon his own requests could he _be_arguable. And amongst these strange folk and within this strange world he belonged; and as a belonging he was ought to take each given opportunity to fit in among them.

Reluctantly, the Professor stood, gathering into his hand the spear that laid loyally at his side, a small one given to him by Alon. He took his stance where Alon had, apprehensively trying his aim. Alex worked the spear smartly, or so he hoped, motioning it back and forth but not yet letting go, preparing the weapon for actual takeoff.

Kalen cringed as he watched the weapon fly, it's wood wavering and vibrating in a ruckus as it whipped through the air. To his dismay and Alexander's, the spear hit the ground, seven feet ahead to Alexander's calculations, bouncing and falling dead onto the grass. A failed attempt no doubt.

The men folk laughed and Toren dared to stand to his feet, so proudly as he did, to shout to Alexander's blind ears an ugly insult of manhood.

"Muka' dela ona' ju para lent!"

The others laughed harder as he rambled on cleverly, but Kalen jolted upward and yelled,

"Toren, uclar' mana tuk!" with that said, the boy made a face and Toren stomped toward him; but the angered warrior was halted in his steps when Alexander threw himself between he and the boy.

"Return to your seat." Alex snarled, frowning terribly into the coward's stunned eyes. Toren didn't dare challenge him at this point and he remembered that same look when Mara had been taken by the Morlocks and he had not the courage to go after her.

He did return to his seat near Alon and the others, and no one spoke fiercely after that.

"Thanks Alexander." Kalen whispered.

Alexander spun around, eyeing the boy mindfully.

"Just what did you say to him anyway?" he asked.

"You don't want to know." Kalen grinned. Alexander smiled.

The wood frittered in the fire as it's bright flames reached great heights. By the time the sky had turned black with only the light of the stars and moon, most everyone had turned in for the night, save a few who were on guard.

Kalen and Alexander were wide awake, warming themselves by the flames and carrying on in minor talk.

"My father use to go hunting this season. We use to miss him and pray that the stars would watch over him. My mother use to tell us bedtime stories to keep us from worrying. But we still had nightmares."

"The one about the Morlocks?"

"Yes." Kalen replied. "No one's had that dream since _you_ came."

Alexander kindled a smile at the boy's words.

"I use to want to go, not because I wanted to hunt, but because I wanted to protect father. Did your father take you hunting?" Kalen glanced Alexander, keeping his palms open toward the warm flame.

Alexander exhaled delightfully before speaking, choosing the right wording for discussing one fond memory.

"Once when I was a boy, a little older than you, he took me on a fishing trip. I was about fifteen, about Isra's age. We got on the train,"

"Train?"

"It's like those big trolley's Vox told you about, but much more massive."

"Oh. Finish the story."

"We went to Upstate New York to a State Park." Alexander furrowed his brows as he relived the moment. "We stayed in an old one room cabin, right there on the lake. It was breathtaking…mountain views, white tail deer, eagles, trees…just beautiful. We rented a little boat and fished for hours almost everyday. Then we'd hike along the trails, visit the little town. I'll never forget it."

"Did you catch a great fish? Was your father proud?"

Alexander laughed.

"I did catch a few trout and we caught a grouper. They weren't great big fish, just average."

"Did you eat them?"

"Yes. But I released one of the trout."

"How come?"

"It was far too young. Besides, I felt sorry for it." he chuckled. Kalen smiled widely.

"My father use to catch fish with me." Kalen mused, sighing and wrapping his arms about his knees. "I miss fishing with him."

"I know you do." Alexander spoke warmly, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. His touch gave him a little comfort, but Alex could still see the heavy burden of grief carried on the boy's face. "Look up there," he offered, pointing at the sky. "You see those stars?" Kalen nodded in response. "He's never far away. When ever you think of him, he's right up there, watching and smiling."

"Why is he smiling?" Kalen questioned, still fixated on the galaxy.

"Because," Alex replied, glancing the boy, "He's very proud of you."

"How do you know?" The boy seemed to question this.

"Because if you were my son, I'd be very proud of you." The Professor could see a small smile tugging at Kalen's lips as his brown eyes continued to study the sky that gave night to the tired world.

Kalen blinked back the tears that wanted to escape him, and before long he and Alexander had tucked themselves away to bed on their thin pallets.

As they lay in the utter silence of dark, with only the symphony of the crickets and the crackling of the warm flame Alexander dwelled on his last sight of Mara. She was beautiful at the farewell, her ebony hair hanging about her like always with the twist of small braids. She was daunted by the reality of watching her little brother bid her goodbye and the dreaded sight of a spear gripped strongly in his hand. Then Alex came to her, uttering sweet words and hoping to fill her heart with comfort.

"It will be okay." he had told her and she nodded. But as Alexander turned to trail away with Kalen and the other hunters, Mara had grasped his wrist, bringing him back to her for an instant moment and suddenly upon his cheek she cast a kiss. Her lips were tight against his skin, seeming to fit just right. He wanted the moment to last but it was only brief. For she broke apart and hugged him instead, whispering in his ear,

"Do not falter." _Falter..._ the word sounded so immense coming from her. "And _I_ will not." she added. He thought her such a sweet creature, so full of passion. The aura that she carried along with her was truly a rarity.

~TTT~

Alexander continued to drift into his dreams like a sailor at sea, longing for the much missed sight of his fair lady. Meanwhile, Alon was on shift, making his rounds about the sleeping camp with his spear at hand and his eyes scanning the dark.

Silence spilt over the world and Alon felt alone. For he was one man and one man only on this watch.

Hours wandered by and the stars and moon traveled and in this silent night, when all eyes were shut and his own were just before it, a rustle came from the bush.

Alon's lacking lids shot open and he gathered his spear. It was dark and by this time the flames of the campfire had died. His ears listened intently, but nothing spooked.

Then when he was certain that a bird had been playing a trick, the noise returned coming a bit louder followed by the thumping sound of heavy feet.

He could make out the steps as they crunched over twigs and pushed through the overgrowth. They were clumsy almost, or so they sounded, and they were followed by faint snarls. He waited, his legs trembling and his heart skipping a beat, completing the decipher of this mystery. A harsh odor hit his nose like rain on a pedal, and it was a fowl stench…a familiar stench.

"MORLOCK!"

Everyone woke in a stumble, climbing frantically to their feet and gathering their spears for a beast that lurked round them.

"Alon?" Alexander looked cautiously in the night, hearing the snarls and the galloping of a monster. "Kalen, get a fire going! Alon wasn't suppose to let it die!"

As Kalen struggled in haste with the rekindling of light, everyone trampled about, forming a circle.

"Alon! Alon!" They shouted his name, hoping to draw him back to the safety of the group.

The beast was moving about them as a ghastly shadow. It seemed to want to use the dark to harass and provoke their fears, reminding the Eloi of why they had long feared the coming of night to begin with. They could hear it's steps shifting about the woods, jarring about in the bamboo and leaving the very leaves themselves to tremble. It fluttered round them hither and thither, confusing and overwhelming the group.

"AH!" Alon's screech sent chills from hell down everyone's spine.

The beast's ragged growling came as a rush as it jerked back into the overgrowth with it's catch and they could make out Alon's body being tugged over stumps and stones as he groaned in his shock.

"After it! It's got him!" Alexander roared amongst the men and they all readied for the tracking of the killer. They pushed through the jungle and followed the horror into a clearing, only a few staying behind with Kalen, and immediately the flickering of hot blood spattered upon their faces in the grim.

Alon's final wailing plummeted into silence and all waited blindly until the beast leaped above them from the bamboo thickets. All the others began to scramble in their panic but Alexander remained, his feet firm and his spear-arm steady and the beast came toppling over him, the spear digging into it's flesh and driving it's heart. A final roar was the last of all it had to give and in return, Alexander bellowed an war cry of rage.

He pushed it to the ground, the spear still jabbed in it's breast, and in the dark came from behind the light of a torch. Quickly, the wary Professor snatched it from Kalen who was trembling like a lamb in a wolf's den.

"Alon! Alon is here!" Toren cried and everyone flew to stand over him where he knelt before a lifeless body. Alexander pushed the others aside as he squeezed his way through to the scene. "He is dead." Toren told him, his breath shaken.

Alexander took the moment that was given to reckon Alon's condition. The Morlock had ripped his throat open and already it had gutted him so quickly.

"Damn!" Was all Alexander could conjure in this moment of madness. For there was nothing more that could be said or done except, "Take his body back to the camp. We'll bury him in the light of dawn." He moved away from the scene as Toren and three others scooped the gored-looking body up to carry him back, and Alexander returned to the sight of the Morlock.

"I thought they were all gone." He could hear Kalen say from behind. He glanced over his shoulder at the boy and he could see that the he was haggard.

"No Kalen," he said, turning back to the sight, "It wouldn't be reasonable for them all to be gone."

"Where did it come from?"

"The same place as the others. This was clearly a rogue, a scavenger looking desperately for a much needed meal. Just look at it; it's skin and bones."

"I don't want to look at it." Kalen uttered weakly. Rage dwindled down in the Time Traveler, and he returned to the boy's side to guide him back to the camp.

"Come on," said he, "Let us prepare the others for leave. We cannot dwell here any longer now."

"What if there are others who track us?"

"Maybe the remains of their friend will occupy them while we move on."

Dawn peeked mournfully over the mountains of rustic jungle and a daunting melody filled the hearts of the Eloi as they buried a lost brother.

"We have not buried our kind in years." Kalen commented. "Alon's woman will be expecting his return."

"…Only to find that he will not." Alexander sighed gravely. "I'm sorry this happened."

The body was buried with white stone and a lament given sincerely, but the strange thing about this whole hunt was the behavior of the men. All this time they had been following the lead of Alon, with him being an experienced hunter, and now with him gone and with the reappearance of a Morlock they had all turned back to the leadership of Alexander it seemed.

"What will we do?" one of the men asked him and Alexander gave it some meaningful thought.

"I suppose we move on." he said at length.

"You!" Toren's voice cut over the conversation and whipped harshly past the listening ears. "You lead us, no!"

Alexander stood from his seat on the old log, watching as Toren closed in on him casting his sharp eyes into his own.

"Alon was leader of the hunt! You no leader to guide!"

"Listen Toren, we need to go back home. It isn't safe out here in the wilderness." Alexander tried to reason with him, but the others grew weary by this suggestion.

"We cannot." said one young boy, "If we do not hunt, we will starve in winter when fish have left the river and when harvest has stalled it's growth."

Alexander rendered the boy and his words and everyone whispered about the situation in worry. When at last Alexander could take no more of the frightened whispers and Toren's sharp glare, he raised his palm and silenced them.

"Alright!" he said, "We will hunt as we set out to do. But we need to move on toward the mountains. We can't risk any further deaths."

The Eloi all seemed contented by his decision and they all nodded in their agreement. Though Toren cared not for Alexander's heroics or attempted leaderships.

"You don't know the ways to the mountains!" he snapped and Alex acknowledged him.

"You're right. I don't. So why don't you lead the way, Toren?"

Somehow these words were not what the angry warrior had expected, but he thought them satisfying to his desires and so he nodded his head and gave to them a brief,

"Follow me."

The others gathered their sacks, their spears and their blankets and so they ventured on ever deeper into the wild.

"I hope we survive it all." Alexander uttered, his eyes giving one final stare to all they would leave behind.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	6. Chapter VI: The Balance

**A/N: **This chapter has some scenes that are pretty random because we transverse from Alexander's thoughts to Mara's.

* * *

**CHAPTER VI: The Balance**

They were trailing up the hill but he was only here in body, not in mind. Elsewhere he was in thought, in a dark place where trouble ceased to leave him and where doubt blackened the heart with a sense of regret. As his feet climbed the steep, hilled pathway through the woods with the heavy satchel strung over his back, he went back to the situation at hand - they were running in a way from something that could or couldn't be out there.

The balance. That was what it was at once, before he arrived.

What if he made a mistake, a temporal disruption? Perhaps he had done nothing to help humanity. Perhaps he had unsettled things and made it more of a mess. Now they would likely start blundering out of the woods, attacking at random as they go. Maybe he had only bombarded in here like a desperate fool, cutting their natural habitat apart. It was apparently something that had become predominately natural for the Under Worlders and the River Folk, wasn't it?…It was like mankind coming along and wiping out every species of shark, and in the meantime certain species of fish become more abundant and for a while it may be a good thing…but then it overwhelms the balance. All of the possibilities were laid out before him like the truthful pages of a book.

Then he paused, looking back on the theory he had just conjured and suddenly it all looked foolish and unreasonable to him.

"_What am I thinking? These are human beings for pity's sake. Had I not come along when I did Mara and countless others would have had no life to live. These people have ambitions and dreams now. They no longer believe in 'the day and the night'. They aren't mindless beasts ravaging about as they go, taking what they can and having some Whip Master telling them when to hunt and not to hunt. They are a peaceful folk…And what a fool I am! I saw it with my machine; the future that would've come to play had I taken their Master's advice in returning to my own time. How could I allow myself to think so irrationally? I did what I was destined to do, to save them…and if there are still wandering Morlocks that must've escaped the destruction of the Caverns then so be it. It's better than there being a whole legion of them, working and mining in their hellish caves, constructing monuments for their Master and making butchering tools for their prey. And now the Eloi have a fighting chance. No longer can the Morlock Master cast his spell upon them, making them so fearful until they do not dare attempt to rescue their own kind_."

Then something else crossed him; something that he recalled the Uber-Morlock saying. It was a grim thing that stung his heart and dampened his spirit. Up and down he felt, fighting to resolve this mess that was still here.

"_And for those who are suitable, to be breeding vessels for our other colonies. You see, I'm just one of many_." the Leader had explained.

"_No. No, how could it slip my mind? It's fact. Mankind has split…meaning mankind in general, not just the peaceful Eloi I have come to know. There are others, other colonies where Morlocks hunt. Who knows how close or far they could be from here_." he reckoned worriedly. "_And there would have to be other Masters, just like him, to keep the hunters under control_."

Then he recalled another dash of history that the Uber had told him.

"_You mean, you're hunters_." Alexander had presumed.

"_Yes. Bred to be predators, but bred also to be controlled. You see, my caste concentrated on expanding our cerebral abilities_." the Master had explained.

"_That means that he was a group of his own apart from the hunting Morlocks. His kind were the ones who had developed their brains into a masterpiece of intellectual unnatural abilities. All that power he had, all that knowledge…and he was only one_." The more the Professor thought on it the more overwhelmed he became. The puzzle was being pieced together once again. After the destruction of the Caverns, he had thought no more on it; but with Alon being killed, it seemed that he was being reminded of the perils of this new world.

"_You control their thoughts_." he had said to the Master, boldly.

"_Not just their's_." the Uber-Morlock had replied.

"_The Eloi_."

How many other countless colonies were there that were being hunted and tortured the way Alexander's Eloi had been? He wondered; and it was a frightening thing to think upon.

"_We weren't always like this. After the moon fell from the sky the Earth could no longer sustain the species._"the Master had told him, perched solemnly on his thrown. "_Some managed to stay above. The rest of us escaped underground. Then centuries later, when we tried to emerge into the sun again, we couldn't. So we bred ourselves into castes. Some to be our eyes and ears. Some to be our muscles and sinews_."

~TTT~

"Alexander? Alexander." Kalen tugged at his sleeve and for a moment it was almost impossible for him to be driven out of his complicated assumptions.

"Wh- what is it, Kalen?" he stuttered.

"You've been quiet."

"I'm sorry. I was in deep thought."

"About the Morlock?" Kalen knew Alexander was unnervingly not himself.

"…Somewhat." he replied reluctantly, not wanting to trouble the child with such woes.

"What do you think?"

"About what, Kalen?" he asked gravely.

"The Morlock. Do you think there are others? Do you think they will find us?"

Why should Kalen know, why should any of them know? For it was he who had heard it with his own ears. He was the only one who knew.

"_Wait_," he thought, _"Mara was there. She must have comprehended his words. I wonder if she understood them as fully as I. She must have._"

"Alexander?"

"What, Kalen?" he asked, annoyed and uneased.

"Nothing." the boy replied, fazed somewhat by the Professor's reaction to his questioning.

"Kalen," he rested his hand on the boy's shoulder and Kalen glanced him readily. "I haven't any answers right now that can bring you any comfort. Let's just stick together and keep our eyes and ears open."

The answer was not one of comfort - certainly not for an eleven year old - but Kalen tried not to show his steadfast anxiety, though Alexander knew he was wrenched by it.

"Hey Toren," the Professor's voice shrouded the warrior's ears. "How many more steps must we take before we can rest?"

"Rest?" Toren paused in his steps, spinning round and eyeing his followers. "Why rest?" he asked, warily.

"Most of the men are tired. Especially the young boys." Alexander glanced down at Kalen, who stood breathlessly by his side.

Toren rendered all of the weary, dirty faces. Stubble seemed to grow and hide the dirt about their cheeks and chins, and red were their tired eyes.

"Not much further." he replied at last. "Follow me. I know good route." Toren turned his back to them and as he paced, he spoke again. "We find many good game up here."

They returned to their walking, their steps heavy and ungraceful along the dirt-tilled road; and now that his mind was no longer thinking Alexander had begun to realize just how very exhausted he had become himself. Walking up a great hill was not a comfortable task but rather a tiresome one.

~TTT~

Mara dwelled silently in the shadows of the dwelling, searching for comfort in the needle work she did sewing only clothing for the two she hoped desperately would return. She would sit cross-legged on the little rug, her gaze never a far cry from the sight of the world outside. She was burdened with fear, Isra knew this.

Young Isra had taken up residence with her dear friend, feeling the need to stay close to Mara in hopes of bringing her company. Though it seemed like she was only a ghost in the house, for Mara was too weary to relish in Isra's presence.

When Isra would speak, Mara would merely smile and offer a brief set of words but never would she laugh or correspond in an in-depth conversation. At the dinner table she would pick and day by day she would search for work with her hands, feeling crazy if she had to keep them still for too long.

Isra pitied Mara greatly, for in this young girl she had always seen the sight of a strong, brave woman; but with the absence of Kalen and Alexander, Mara had looked weaker in Isra's one blindless eye.

"Mara, toclerna uh te' cum'?" she asked if Mara were hungry.

"No." Mara replied, never looking up from her needlework. Suddenly, she spoke again but more to herself than anything. "I wish I had taken more time to make them warmer clothes."

"They will return before the winter." Isra tried to comfort her.

"Not before the rains." Mara sighed. "I worry."

"Do not." Isra came to her side, cradling her gently and taking her hand away from the fabric. "They are strong. Nothing can harm them now. No Morlocks. Shelter they will find if the rains _do_ come."

Morlocks. If only Isra knew, if only she knew what Mara did.

Many a time had Mara tried to convince the men that Kalen was not ready to go on the hunt only to receive their pitiless scowls in return. She remembered very well what the Uber-Morlock had said, and when she tried to tell them of the other Colonies in those earlier days they had ignored her in their stubbornness. She was only a worrying woman after all.

She had not spoken of it with Alexander, for the malice of the Master was still too much for her to bear. Many a night had she woken up from nightmarish visions of his cold, lifeless eyes staring into her. So ruthless was he, and so ruthless were his hunters. She remembered all that had happened to her after they had taken her underground far too clear.

~TTT~

One of the hairy brutes had her draped painfully over his shoulder just like all the rest. She could hear the other Eloi crying, kicking and screaming. It was a blunder of hell, this underground butchering factory.

The brutes carried them through the smelting halls and into a room that smelled far worse than the rest. It was a stench that reeked of death and it was here that they were tossed to the floor in their rope-bound limbs where the Morlocks began to strip them of their clothes.

The others screamed terribly as the Morlocks ripped and tore into their dressage, piling all of their clad into a great pile where other old clothes, perhaps from previous week killings, lay.

The one who held Mara captive suddenly tossed her onto the floor beside the rest, immediately ripping her necklace off her neck and tossing it into the pile. He then reached for her shirt and she screeched at him, but he froze as if some dumbness had seized his mind.

Over his shoulder she was thrown again and he marched like a zombie to who-knew-where and in this moment of leaving her fellow Eloi, she caught sight of something that settled horridly within her soul… the Scrap Pool. She fainted.

"_Put her in the cage_." the cold, shrilling voice awoke her and she gripped the bars as quick as she came two, pulling and pushing against them in a weak attempt to break out. "_You're safer here_."

Mara froze and before her on a dark thrown sat a pale, muscled figure with white locks. He was a devilish thing, and after this she did not move or speak again - not as long as she was in his company.

"_You don't want to go back out there_," he reached for something - she didn't know what - from a plate and slipped it into his mouth, "_Trust me. Of course I do control them_. _I wouldn't let them kill you_." he glanced her, taking in the terror in her fair face. He picked himself up from the chair and slowly he moved toward her. She wanted to cower and run, but something in his frightful stare cast a spell on her, enabling her body from moving.

"_You're a lovely thing, Mara. So long have I waited to meet you in person. So long have I watched you. You are different from the rest_." He knelt down, sliding his claw along her face. "_The teacher of the little village. Ah, you are far too beautiful to eat_." her rapid breathing pleased him. "_I think_," he began to muse, curling his cold finger beneath her chin, "_Perhaps I shall make you…my own_."

~TTT~

"Mara, Mara? ...Mara, what is wrong?" Isra shook her arm and Mara was grateful to her for the rescue from the blistering thoughts that pained her. For a seconds time though she looked befuddled.

"I am fine." she said at length. "I was thinking of something."

"Nothing bad I hope."

Mara glanced her with weary eyes and in a swallow she managed to pour out the words,

"No. Nothing bad."

When night came, both girls had settled into their beds. Isra had taken up in Kalen's room and somehow it made Mara a little more at ease to know that the room was not allowed to go empty. But in the long hours of the lonely night, she found her eyes wandering to the empty bed where Alexander would normally lie across from her and it made Mara's gut cringe in sickening sorrow.

She sobbed like this every night, until at last she could stay awake to grieve no more. She missed them so badly and she wanted so much to be where they were.

Isra laid awake in Kalen's chamber, her eye carefully taking in all that belonged to this little boy. His woven bracelets that dangled by his bedside, his handmade toys and other unique things. His fishing pole and his rope-ladder - the one that he made with his father - it was all right here.

Isra exhaled deeply. In her heart she grieved for the boy and the Time Traveler and for the girl upstairs who was uneasy for them; and in her heart she grieved for her own greed, though a malicious greed it was not. Isra only wished that she too had someone left in this world that she could love enough to miss, someone to share a hovel with and wrap their arms about her on cold nights.

She wondered what it was that Mara often thought when she wished to be alone on the balcony to gaze solemnly into the stars. She wondered if the sky gave her any comfort, or perhaps if it made her more saddened. She wondered how it felt to be loved by the Time Traveler.

"His company must be soothing like the river water." she thought out loud. "He is so fair. So different from the other men." She could feel her cheeks burning as she thought of his face and in these thoughts she felt both guilt and resentment.

She hadn't caught sight of the brief kiss Mara had given him at the departure and secretly she had begun to wonder how it would feel to kiss him herself. Were these stranger percussions no more than a child's crush, or was there more to these feelings than even she knew herself? But Alexander was a man, a man of thirty four, and Isra was only a girl of about fifteen. Even with Mara as young as she was, she was still more suitable in age and Alexander must have loved her dearly. After all, it was Mara who saved him, and Mara who _he _saved…they must have loved each other. It must have been more than a friendship and this worried Isra.

She leaned over the edge of the bed, looking into the basket that she kept close to check on the sleeping baby birds. She stroked their fuzzy heads a final time before falling victim to sleep.

Soon the rains would come.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	7. Chapter VII: The Priests

**CHAPTER VII: The Priests**

They didn't sit among the flat slates of boulder that trimmed the road but rather fell onto them enthusiastically. For they were hot, breathless and drenched in their sweat.

Their stomachs roared as the young men carved into the carcass of a decent kill; a bird of some sort that Toren had speared from a tree.

"I am sorry." Kalen heard Alexander utter as he rubbed his stiff neck, his skin and bare hands painted with the stain of dirt. About his waste his shirt had been wrapped and by now he had grown a somewhat thick beard.

"What are you sorry for?" Kalen asked.

The Professor did not glance the boy. Instead, his full attention was given to that of the leather water canteen in his trembling hands. He pulled off it's rag-cap and swigged it down like a desperate man that had gone too long without the quench of liquor.

"I'm sorry that I have let many things slip my mind after the destruction of that hell pit."

Kalen furrowed his temples at this in a disarray as the Professor went on,

"I've been preoccupied with my new friends…learning _their_ ways and forgetting my own. I haven't given any thought to what he said to me. It was a mistake."

"_He_ said?" Kalen carried on with his questioning, but it seemed the Professor acknowledged him not. "Who are you speaking of? What was a mistake?"

"Oh my dear boy," Suddenly his wearied face was aimed at the confused little Eloi at his side. Kalen could see that his blue eyes now looked gray and old. "I cannot burden you with my troubles. Even if it _does_ affect each and every one of us...then again, perhaps I _should_ speak of this to all of you…something I should've done to begin with. I've been a careless fool."

Kalen watched as the man seated near him climbed unsteadily to his feet and demanded everyone's ears.

"I have something I need to discuss with all of you." said he, "It's very important. But we will eat first." he returned to his seated position, "_I shouldn't disrupt your appetites_ ." he mumbled it to himself, that last sentence, but Kalen heard him clearly.

The men shrugged at him before returning to the preparing of their meat while two of the young boys readied a fire.

By nightfall, the meat had at last simmered and cooled. Kalen and two other boys passed it around in meager portions and all were glad to have it; but this night brought to them no moon or stars. Instead, the anxious hunters saw clouds and fog that settled in the sky.

"You wanted to tell us something. What is on the Time Traveler's mind?" one boy asked.

"Well," Alexander cleared his throat and sat his canteen aside, "I have something that I want to share with all of you. And I must confess that I regret my, letting it slip for so long. I should have already spoke of this, though I wasn't sure if you would understand."

"What then?" Toren demanded sharply.

"I don't want any interruptions," Alexander said rather frankly, "I wish to tell it and I wish for you to listen carefully."

Once he had assured himself that all their ears were listening and their tongues were silent, he spoke.

"When I journeyed into the Morlock Caverns to save Mara, I encountered the Master."

"Mara has mentioned to us this Master Morlock!"

"Toren, hush!" Kalen spat.

"Anyway," the Professor went on, "I don't think she's told you what he said to _me_ . He mentioned that there were other Morlock Colonies and that he was just one of many that controlled these hunters…"

His words brought on the sudden frenzy of frantic whispers, until Toren silenced them all with his hasty shushing.

"And what is this Time Traveler saying?" he asked, glancing all the men after he had earned their silence. "That the Morlock who killed Alon is from other Colony? The beast was a sickly scavenger that escaped the Caverns!"

"No Toren! Hear me out. I too have concluded that that one Morlock must have strayed from the Caverns. Perhaps it was lost and searching for food. But there are other Colonies out there somewhere just as there are other Eloi Colonies perhaps."

"Eloi? We are the only Eloi." Toren informed him.

"Maybe you are then; but that doesn't mean that we're the last human beings on this good Earth. There are other tribes out there and they're obviously hunted by other Morlocks as you all once were. Just think about it."

"It cannot be. And if so, why should we care?" Toren asked, settling back into his seat on the rug.

"I'm not saying I want to venture out and get caught up in it all over again. I really have no way to save any further tribes. All I'm trying to tell you is that we should be aware of this and we should be careful as to how far we travel." the Professor told them.

The others grew quiet afterwards and no one slept well that night, nor had they been sleeping well any night since Alon's death. Constantly their eyes were on guard and their spears were at hand and huddled together in a tight circle round the fire would they sleep.

"Alexander," Kalen whispered in the dark after they had settled into their pallets, "Alexander are you awake?"

"Yes." he muttered. He laid on his back with his fists clutched over his breast; and although he was still his mind was restless.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Do you think we will…make it home in time for my Birthday?"

Alexander tilted his head, finding the boys worried face in the light of the fire.

"I hope so." he gave him in response.

"What do you think Mara is doing?"

"Hopefully not worrying over us." the Professor smiled beneath his stubbly face.

"Do you think any rogue Morlocks will venture into the village?"

"Don't worry, Kalen. Even if they did, though I doubt it, they wouldn't fair against the entire village. The Master doesn't control our thoughts and dreams anymore."

The boy laid his head back to rest but his eyes were still open and on the sky above them. "_He doesn't control them either_ ." he thought to himself.

"It will rain soon. The clouds won't go anywhere for long time." he whispered.

"We'll build ourselves a shelter tomorrow." Alex told him. "Try to get some rest. You need it."

"I can't sleep for thinking the Morlocks will return."

"Us adults will keep watch. You sleep now, alright?"

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Kalen."

"Goodnight."

~TTT~

The rains poured heavily and thunder seized the delight of the singing birds that now hid in the warmth of their nests.

Alexander and the men folk wrestled with the tying of the stubborn bamboo shelter. It was a flimsy thing, but being nestled between the great boulders imbedded into the mountainside it would at least keep them a little dryer, he had thought.

He fought in the rain, along with Toren and five others while the younger boys and remaining men held the supporting beams below. The Professor was just finishing the binding of the bamboo roof when he tried to reach for more rope while moving his foot along the slippery surface, and in the process he slipped and skid and on the hard stone he landed upon his bare back.

"AH!" he hollered. Kalen and two others rushed to his aid.

"Alexander! Are you alright?" Kalen asked, helping the wincing man to his feet.

"I don't know." the Professor stated.

"Bring him in!" beckoned another Eloi. "Lay him on the pallet."

"Come on," Kalen draped Alexander's arm over his shoulder as he escorted his limping, arch-backed friend inside.

Toren and the others finished up the work of Alexander while Kalen and one of the older men examined his back.

"How is it?" Alex asked.

"Does this hurt?" The man pressed his fingers against the bruise.

"AH!" the Professor winced and jerked.

"It is bruised badly, but nothing feels broken." said the male.

"I may beg to differ, my friend. The pain is excruciating." Alexander complained.

"Lay on your stomach and I will bandage it." replied the Eloi.

Alexander regretted that he had been working without a shirt on, but then he doubted that the cover of a thin button up would've really made any difference. Nonetheless, he was in writhing pain and at this point he regretted that he would be of little use for any future tasks.

"First my ribs get busted, not to mention I had to wrestle a Morlock, then I take a fine blow to the head fighting their Master and now this. I wonder what's to befall me next?"

~TTT~

"Are you feeling better?" Kalen asked later into the day when the rains had eased by a little bit. "Alexander?"

"It still sores me." he replied. "I can't even bear to touch it. How does it look?"

"It's swollen. And it's a black-like purple." the boy confessed, sighing.

"How big is the bruise?"

Kalen illustrated to him the circular width with his hands and Alexander shook his head as he sighed into his pillow.

"And it's getting bigger." the boy added.

"Damn." The expression was not intended. He had briefly forgotten that he was indeed in the company of a child.

"Damn? I never heard that word. What does it mean?"

"Uh…just - it's an ugly word, Kalen. Don't repeat it." He tried for a small smile and the boy uttered an innocent "Oh," as he rested his eyes on the sight of his fidgeting fingers.

~TTT~

The weeks came as unpromising, for their success in hunting had dwindled poorly with the sudden rains. Toren had even commented rather bitterly that the weather had come strangely earlier than they had hoped.

Everyday Alexander grew more stiff and tired as did everyone else. As Kalen looked to the Professor, he had come to notice that his now gruff, bearded face had lost it's flushed, animated look and at times he appeared like a wild man lost to the merciless mountains. Toren and the other men looked just as withered themselves and their bald heads had grown some abundance of hair since grooming had lost it's reputation as a priority for the time being.

In the storm, they had remained close to the comfortless shelter trying to keep out of the rain as much as hunger would allow them. The dried fish jerkies had been long consumed and all that was at their reach now was the small squirrel-like creatures they would capture from the trees.

At times Kalen and Alexander would hear the wails of the little things as Toren and his men would break their necks, and it settled a deep feeling of pity within both of them.

"We should've stayed home." Alexander would often say, "We were better off. This hunt has been more futile than anything. A pointless struggle. I would think that with these rain showers there would be a good amount of fish in the river, not to mention more growth in the gardens."

"But there won't be." Kalen would correct him. "It will grow colder and windier. You'll see. The fish will leave and the plants will shrivel."

Late one night, when the rains had eased into a dim drizzle and all eyes were shut, Kalen had been roused by the sounds of a rustle in the bush. When he scanned the small overgrowth across from the shelter, he thought for a moment he had glimpsed yellow eyes of a fearsome glow, but by the time he had waken Alexander, the eyes were gone and the Professor eased the boy's mind by assuming that the eyes belonged to a curious animal, though in the back of his own mind he suspected a beast.

One night, during a lightening storm, the shelter had suddenly begun collapsing around them and immediately they jolted from beneath it. For it's weak timber had been no match for the showers and in the long run, they had to wait until morning before they could fish out their satchels and pallets, and when they did everything had been soaked and dirtied beneath the bamboo, including their rations.

"What do we do?" Toren asked, shivering in the rain.

"We'll look for shelter." the Professor replied.

"Where?" asked one of the boys.

"I don't know," Alex replied, motioning his hands about in his low confidence. "Perhaps a cave somewhere in the mountain. Don't any of you have any posts marked about in any caves from your previous hunts?"

One of the men stepped forward.

"There is one. My Father and I found it years before, but I am not sure if the trail will be easily recalled."

"Can you try to remember?" Kalen asked.

The man nodded in response and beckoned for everyone to follow him down a small winding path through the woods.

For hours they seemed to walk and often Alexander would question the warrior of how far he reckoned the cave to be from where they were. Continuously he would reply to them in a way that spoke certainty, though most of the others were doubtful.

"Down there!" the warrior pointed at last when they had come to a cliffs edge. "That is it."

"You're certain?" Alex questioned, breathless.

"Yes! Yes! Come!"

The party carefully climbed their way down the steepness of the hill, and at long last they had climbed yet another hillside of a mountain where the cave awaited them.

Warmth and dryness they found inside, and all of them released their tensed legs upon the stone-floor.

"Obra tranta grin." uttered Toren as he closed his eyes and gathered his breath, and Alexander recognized these words. For Mara had told him the translation for thanking what they considered to be God.

"Lord knows," Alex expressed, "I am glad you remembered this place." He glanced toward the Eloi who had led them here only to find that he had curled up in a corner in hopes of catching some rest. But rest was brief and hunger was great.

"What about food?" asked Kalen, "We have nothing to eat."

"I will go." said Toren.

"Alone?" Alex asked. "Take some men with you."

Toren nodded and quickly gathered about six men. They left the rest of the party to dwell and rest in the shadows of the cave. But when night came, the hunters did not return and worried were all who awaited them. In the morning, they were still gone and the remaining were forced to gather the unsatisfying berries that grew on the green vines that decorated the mountainside.

The rain was still heavy and all that day, the others kept to the cave with the stomach cramps that came with the cursed wild berries, though fortunately, that is all the discomfort they brought to the hunters.

"Where do you think they are?" Kalen asked, "Do you think they are lost?"

"I don't know, Kalen. But I hope that nothing grim has befallen our friends." he replied.

When the next day came Alexander became impatient and stood over the small cliff that was the road woven about the mountain and before the cave entrance. There he hollered in the drizzle, calling each of the missing Eloi by name. Soon, the other cave dwellers joined him and their voices could be heard for many miles; but the echo of their calling brought no sign of hope and another night passed and once again they fed upon onion grass and smoked mushrooms gathered near their little dwelling.

"Where are you going?" Kalen asked the following morining, watching as Alexander slipped silently from the sleeping hall in the large hollow.

"To gather firewood." he replied in a hushed tone.

"I will go with you." Kalen said.

"Alright. But don't wake the others. I told Kenay where I was going so that they wouldn't miss us when they wake."

All that day they wandered on the winding road that cradled the mountainside, gathering and foraging and calling names and listening. But still no sign came and at last Alexander concluded secretly to himself that the others were either lost or had fallen victim to some predator. By this time, the rains had eased off completely.

"I suppose we may have to find some meat ourselves, Kalen." he sighed, holding in his arms a bundle of faggots collected from the woods near the bottom of the high point of land from which they had been staying.

To their right came suddenly out of the woodwork a frantic figure and for an instant they startled at the sight of it until it came clear to them that it was only Kenay; but he looked almost stupor and maybe even drugged, for he staggered about like an animal growing limp from poison, though he didn't look as sick, and his eyes were of great heaviness.

"Kenay?" Alexander addressed him with some suspicion. The young man was behaving strange; and to his friends, Kenay gave a quirky grin.

"I found you," he said dizzily in his lameness, "I came to bring you back."

"Kenay, what's come over you? You look unwell."

"Nothing," Kenay replied, "I am only a bit tired from the walking."

"But we weren't that far from the cave. Did you not sleep well last night?" the Professor pressed him.

"I did," he stated, "But come, there is nourishment! Someone has left food for us."

"What?"

Kenay staggered back onto the road through the small woods from which he had stumbled, but Alexander had further questions he needed answers to.

"Kenay, hold on a minute." Alexander handed the faggots to Kalen who watched the two men transverse in words with utter confusion.

Kenay turned around lazily, giving the Time Traveler the most attention that his drowsiness could offer.

"What do you mean there are nourishments?"

"Food for eating." he replied, "Come." But Alexander snatched his shoulder, holding him from any further movement.

"Food? What sort of food?"

"Broiled fish and many fresh fruits."

"What?"

"Yes."

"Where did it all come from?"

"I don't know. Please Time Traveler, let us go now before the others finish it. I have only had one of the fruits on my way here."

Alexander glanced Kalen, shrugging his brows at him, and reluctantly they both followed Kenay back to the cave who staggered in front of them like a drunken sailor, though without the swearing. Instead, he only sung quietly to himself in Eloi.

Kenay had not lied, for there was much food displayed on wooden plates all round the cave entrance, though by now many of the plates were emptied and in the cave were all of those who had feasted, and they had been claimed by sleep.

Alexander examined the food, then he looked on to the sleeping Eloi, unpleased that they had been so greedy without regarding the possibility of a trap of some sort. But to him they all slept like satisfied babies with content grins painted upon their faces and after further smelling and small tastings, he concluded that the food was safe. Though he was more interested now in discovering who or what had brought to them this food and why.

"That was so good." Kalen yawned. "I was so hungry."

"Yes. I feel like one who has eaten too much turkey on Thanksgiving." the Professor commented, seeing that Kenay was already sound asleep with his head laid on an empty plate.

"What is Thanksgiving?" Kalen asked, yawning again as he tried to hold his eyes open.

"A Holiday." Alexander replied. "You look awfully sleepy, Kalen."

"I am." the boy said. "I think I'll take a nap."

"Alright." He watched the boy return to the shelter of the cave and he wondered why sleep had been so slow in claiming him. "_Perhaps it is because I am older than all of them_ ." he assumed; but in two hours he too became victim to eyes that could no longer hold open and he fell asleep against the rocks.

Dreams carried Alexander into another world, a world lost to him. It began in visions of Emma from an old memory where he had taken her to a Chinese Restaurant somewhere near China Town, New York. He could faintly remember the enduring conversation between the two of them, though mainly he was concentrated on the alluring gleam in her blue eyes.

~TTT~

"_And yesterday Mother went to this fantastic little Flower Shop, and she told me everything about it. Oh I could see it all in my mind, and when she took me there, it was just as I had imagined, only, far more charming. Oh Alexander, someday I would love to have a flower shop of my own. Wouldn't that be wonderful_ ?" she said, "_Alexander? Alexander Hartdegen are you even listening_ ?"

"_Y_ - _Yes_ !" he replied.

"_Then what was I saying_ ?" she demanded politely.

"_Uh_ …" he paused, and he could tell that she was growing impatient. "_I heard something about flowers_ ."

"_Oh you never listen, Professor_ ."

"_Emma, I am sorry. Will you forgive me_ ?"

"_I don't know if I should. It seems you're always somewhere else whenever we are together. I suppose I bore you. Perhaps if I were to discuss mathematics and engineering you would heed to me_ ."

"_Emma_ ," he said, grasping her hand, "_That isn't true. I was merely admiring the blue in your eyes_ ."

"_Oh don't give me that. I shan't believe you_ ." she taunted, a smile creasing at the edges of her rose lips.

"_But I was, I swear_ ."

"_To swear is a daring way to explain one's self_ ."

"_And I only swear when I am being truthful. And I only swear when I am so desperate for you, the prettiest girl in New York, to believe me._ "

"_Very well_ ." she smiled. "_I suppose I can forgive you once more. Besides, it is nice to think that you find my eyes intriguing, if not my words_ ."

The two of them chuckled merrily with their hands entangled in the others', and quickly, that dream became a blur and to something else it fazed in to. Alexander desperately wanted to go back to his dinner with her, to the touch of her smooth hands of which he felt in the dream, but it was all gone and now he was someplace else…someplace darker.

"_Alexander_ ," A smooth yet cold voice hissed through the darkness as it bounced off from the stone walls. "_Alexander_ ," It reiterated his name five more times, but he was blind in the dark.

"_Who - Who's there? Show yourself_ !" he echoed back and out of the dark came a pale, almost white face. "_You_ …" Alexander uttered.

"_Alexander_ …" the Uber-Morlock hissed again. There was a sneer to his lips, and cold anger.

"_What is it you want with me? Why don't you leave us in peace? I destroyed you. You're demonic soul shouldn't be slipping into our dreams and haunting us still_ ."

"_Us? So you suspect that I have plagued your friends as well_ ?" the Master mused.

"_And why wouldn't you_ ?"

The Master spoke no word but Alexander understood, yet he was unafraid. For long they stared into each other, in a threatening yet observant sort of way. From the eyes of another who could watch them, it would look as if they were sizing each other up, or perhaps contemplating or even reading the other's thoughts. Then, in a hasting moment, the Uber-Morlock seized Alexander into his tight clutch without moving anything more than his arm; and in that grasp Alexander was choked brutally. Breath escaped him and would not return and his eyes slowly faded to blindness. He was dead.

~TTT~

The Professor thrust upwards, escaping the dream that brought the bitter misery of sudden death. He clutched his throat as his wild eyes saw the lighted world around him. To his relief, all was well again and then he remembered the feast, looking to see if the others had already waken. It appeared that they had, for all of them were gone save Kalen and Kenay who still slept.

"Kalen, Kalen wake up!"

Kalen groaned and stretched his limbs as Alexander continuously shook him.

"What is it?" the boy asked, sitting up and relieving his back from the agenizing rock floor.

"Where are the others?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're gone, Kalen. They aren't here." He was frantic.

Kalen scanned the empty cave, seeing that he was in fact the only one sleeping inside it's dark chamber.

"They _are_ gone." he commented.

"Let's wake Kenay up. He appears to be the only one remaining besides you and I."

At first they had little success, for Kenay was by nature a lazy man; but finally they succeeded only to find that he was as dumbfounded to it all as they.

"Chandrak! Islem! Where are you!" Alexander shouted as they strayed along the mountain's road.

"Ali! Foluke!" Kalen called.

"Iwi! Monark! Tokwati!" Kenay cried. But their calls were useless and for the rest of that day they remained alone, confused and frightened.

First it was Toren and the six men that left with him. Then there was the strange account of the mysterious food that seemed to feed them well but strike them with stupor, and now the remaining were missing with the event of Alon that had come to play still dampening their spirits.

"This can't be happening." Alexander said, crouched and resting his temples in the palm of his dirty hand. "This can't be happening."

"Alexander," Kalen came to his side, sitting as close to him as he could, "I am afraid."

Alexander opened his mouth as he turned toward the boy, but from his tongue no words slipped. As for Kenay, he remained silent and troubled, for in his mind he was drenched with fear… Fear of something he could not see.

Then rage and fury overtook Hartdegen's good nature, bringing him to jolt up and speak with determination.

"By God," he quoted, "Get your things," he went on as he tossed his satchel over his back, "We're going to find them!"

~TTT~

For two days they wandered like lost dogs in the rains. At night they would huddle beneath their pallets under the dim sheltering of trees, and in the morning they would forage through the woods for what few berries, onion-like grasses or mushrooms they could roast. After their light stuffing of food, they would drink from murky water puddles that had filled forest pit holes.

The search remained hopeless and Kalen and Kenay were growing weak trying to keep up with Alexander's anxious haste. But by the third day, they found something that would soon change the way they saw their world.

The searchers had come to a bare dale, a clearing in the lowlands of the jungle, and there they caught sight of what Alexander thought to be a fort wall. From within that fort smoke arose and cautiously they approached to investigate, not knowing what it was that dwelled thither, but hoping in their longing hearts that it would be a peaceful folk if not their friends.

"Stay here in the bushes. I'm going to have a better look." Alexander halted Kalen and Kenay, and though kenay was content, Kalen was not. He wanted to remain at Alexander's side.

"No. I'm coming with you." the boy protested.

"No you're not." There was a slight snap in his voice. "Kalen, please stay put. Both of you."

Neither of them wanted to defy him, not when he was in such a bewildered state. So, they watched the Time Traveler as he narrowed his way down the stony, grassy paths to the dale where he carried on towards the wall.

The wall was made of timber, old and withered from the jungle. The aged wood, looming in it's height, bore many crevices that made the village inside naked to the stranger's eye.

Inside his sight was bestowed upon a dim, dense little display of hovel housing made of old bamboo, stones and grass roofs. It was as poor as something an explorer might find in some forgotten tribal village in South America.

The Professor smiled cleverly and within him he felt a ramble of mirth wanting to come out of his mouth. For he was overtaken by joy, though quickly he remembered what folly it could be to assume so quickly that he had stumbled upon a treasure. After all, he knew not of the people who lived here; so he held in that joy and waited.

Then came the clamoring of the opening of gates, and when he peered round the angled corner he saw nothing appear, for a while that is. Then came four men, all clad in straw and feathers. Their eyes were dark like that of a Raccoon's with the marking of paint. Two of them were bald and the others had tangled locks.

At the sight of these men Alexander was stunned, not just by their existence but by their age. For these men were older than his Eloi, three of them middle aged and the other very old. He pondered on this and curiously thought that they must have found some way to survive the wrath of any Morlock that could be about. Perhaps their walls were more sturdy than they looked. Perhaps no Master had claimed them as prey. Perhaps these people had remained a hidden secret in their world.

"Oi! Oi!" one of them had spotted Alex, and he pointed, bringing the eyes of the others to fall upon him.

Alexander shivered in his heart and he worried that they would think him a beast trying to sneak into their little village. Seeing that the men were naked of weapons, he lay his own spear down upon the grass, and slowly held his hands above his head, trying to approach them as best he could, staying at a careful distance.

"Oma grabara dor." said the elder, gesturing something to his followers. Their accent and words were different from that of the Eloi, though the elder was yet to amaze him. "You search like wild beast. You find nothing."

"Yo - you speak Eng - the Stone Language."

"Stone Language. Yes." the elder nodded. "You come far. You not from these mountains. You not from woods."

"No, no. My home is about a two week journey from here…maybe more."

"Name yourself, bushy face man."

"Alexander." he said. He didn't give his last name; he thought it unnecessary.

"What you want?"

"Well I don't want to harm anyone. If you mean me well, then I am a friend."

"Then I call you Bristle Beard." the elder christened him. Alexander felt that he was in no position to deny the title. He was in _their_ homeland.

"Do the others speak the Stone Language?"

"No. I do." the elder replied. "You came here not alone. You hide your friends in the woods."

"How - how did you know?" the Professor furrowed his brows as he lowered his raised hands.

"My eyes see before the dawn."

"Oh," Alex was in disarray. "Well listen, we come in peace. We were out searching for our friends who have gone missing and…one of my friends back there is a small boy," he illustrated Kalen's height with his hand, "And he, as well as the other fellow and me, need some food and rest. I hope that…you won't mind."

"Come." the elder said. "Tell your friends."

Alexander watched as the four disappeared into the gate, and he eagerly beckoned for Kenay and Kalen. "_I suppose I've embarked on that great exploration I was thinking about. A little sooner than I thought I would_ ." Alex thought as he, Kenay and Kalen entered the gate.

As they followed the four native men through the dense village, they took notice of the lack of people they had expected to see within the walls. In fact, the four men seemed to be the only people here.

The elder whispered in his tongue for his men to fetch food and water, and afterwards he led his guests into his hut where he shared with them the smoking of his flute-like pipe.

"Ah," Alexander waned himself as he took the gratitude that was offered, "I haven't smoked a pipe in so long."

"They will bring food. Ah! Here they come." The elder watched with eyes of pleasure as his men surrounded their guests with heavily filled plates; but his pleasure seized as he pondered on why the hungry guests, as Bristle Beard claimed them to be, were apprehensive in the delight of the meal.

"This is the same food we found near the cave. That could only mean..."

"Yes." the elder said. "I had the other three to bring food. I saw hungry warriors in my dreams."

"Oh...Then I suppose we should be grateful."

"It willl make you sleep but you will awake strengthened."

With that said, the three dug in.

"I am Nak'Tukrimor." the elder told them after their guts were filled. "And we are village Priests."

"Priests?" Alexander expressed.

"Yes." the old man nodded.

"How did you come to live here?" Kalen asked.

"Yes," Alexander cut in, "How _did_ you come to live within these walls?"

"We have lived here many century."

"In this village?" Kenay questioned, yawning.

"No. In this world. We come here three years before and made our home."

"Well where are all of the citizens?" the Professor inquired.

"Citizens?" the old man didn't seem to comprehend the term.

"You know, like people…villagers. Women and children and other men."

"They are gone from this place."

"Gone?" Kenay questioned, "In our village it is the young who live and old who don't."

"It use to be." Alex reminded him. Kenay shrugged.

"What happened?" Kalen asked, "Were they taken by Morlocks?"

"Mmmm…" the old man grunted mindfully, "They did. They did. They all die. But we four survive because we are the chosen ones."

"Chosen?" said Alex.

"Yes. Chosen. You see young ones, we are Moon worshipers. The Moon is our guardian, our bringer of light and life. And to the Moon, in it's floating white stones, we are grateful."

"But the rains have come." said Kalen. "You cannot see the Moon when it is so cloudy in night."

"And the rains will pass." he replied.

"Did you or any of your friends by any chance see any young men come by this way?" asked the Professor. "You see, after we ate the food you brought us, our entire party was gone, save us three. And before that, we lost seven men who were sent out to hunt. We don't know what happened."

"No. You are the only men our eyes have seen, Bristle Beard. Down this way. The only time we saw your men was when they slept in cave."

"Do you want to know our names?" asked Alex. "Well, their names anyway..." The elder hushed him with the raising of his withered hand.

"Your names I will never know. Strangers must remain strangers. But you I rename Bristle Beard." he said. His guests glanced each other in low suspicion, but the elder did not mind. "Tonight you will sleep…" as he went on in his speech, words pierced Kalen's mind and he saw that the old man looked upon him stridently as he spoke different phrases into Kalen's thoughts…a riddle of sorts.

"_Little yearlings are last to leave_ ." These words came into him in a telepathic sense and made the boy tremble.

Steadfastly, the old man stood, clapped his hands and nodded to his men. His eyes looked over his guests as he spoke to them.

"Follow them. They take you to sleeping chamber."

~TTT~

"What do you think of them?" Kenay asked, laying on the hay bed in the hut.

"Well," Alex sighed, laying his satchel on the floor, "They seem to be strong worshipers. I suppose that they must consider themselves sacred; and perhaps they are if they've gone this long without the trouble of Morlocks."

"When do we leave?" asked Kenay.

"Tomorrow. Bright and early…or rather gray and early." he referred to the rains. "Kalen, are you feeling alright? You've been terribly quiet since our settling in. Normally you're bursting with questions."

"I'm okay. Just tired." he replied in his solemn, his body resting flat against the hay.

"I can imagine. We've been wandering all over the place, haven't we?"

"I hope we find them." Kenay sighed. "I hope they are alive."

"Perhaps they went off to find Toren and the others." Alex suggested. The welcoming they had received from the Priests had filled him not only with nourishment, but with newfound hope.

"I hope they did. I hope they are alive." Kenay yawned.

Alexander rested himself upon his own hay bed, stretching his muscled arms over his head and relaxing himself for the first time in many days. Suddenly, Kalen climbed out of the comfort of his bed and came to sit upon Alexander's.

"Alexander,"

"I thought you were tired. You aren't going to ask for stories now, are you?"

"No. I wanted to tell you something."

"What Kalen?"

"It's the Priests."

"What about them?" he asked. Kenay was already snoring.

"I don't like them, especially the old one."

"Why not?"

"He makes me feel uncomfortable."

At this Alexander chuckled and patted the boy's head.

"They are strange, but they've been generous. I don't think there's anything to worry about. I think they're merely old men who live alone in the wilderness."

"Alexander,"

"Yes?"

"When…If we find the others, can we go home? I miss Mara."

"We will. We'll go home."

TO BE CONTINUED…


	8. Chapter VIII: Found On The Bank

**CHAPTER VIII: Found On The Bank**

Their bodies fell heavily onto a hard, cold surface. It awoke them from the slumber that they had been claimed by for so many long hours. Awake they were now and blind in the dark. There they heard crying, whimpering and whispering whilst the Professor struggled to climb to his feet.

"Who's there? Where are we?" he demanded. "They've done something with us. Where are you?!" he shouted, calling for the Priests; but his threats were useless. "Answer me!" he shouted brawly, his hand pressed against his now aching coxal.

"_Alexander_,"

"_It the Time Traveler_."

"_He's been captured_."

The voices were familiar, though still he could not see their faces.

"Chandrak? Ali?…Monark?" he beckoned to them and they replied.

"It _is _us." said Ali.

"Ali!" Kenay interrupted, "Where are we?"

"The Priests." said Ali. "They carried us here when we slept."

"Wait. Are you telling me that these men carried all of you off after we ate that food near the cave?" Alex questioned with a kind of madness growing upon him.

"Yes. That is what the elder said." said Ali.

"Hold on, why didn't they carry Kenay, Kalen and I as well? Wait…_Kalen_. Kalen, where are you?!" The Professor frantically fingered around in the dark searching for the boy's existence.

"I'm here." Kalen assured him.

"Oh…Oh thank God. At least we're all together then."

"Not all." said Monark. "They carry us but leave you. They had not enough room in cage cart."

"A cart you say?" Alexander said.

"Yes. Toren is gone." Monark told him.

"Toren? You mean they…"

"Yes." the Eloi replied in his grim. "They caught them same way. Left food in woods. Toren and the six of us who went with him fell prey. But Toren not here now."

"Where is he then?"

"We don't know." said Ali. "They take us. One every few days. They took Foluke this sunrise. We don't know where."

"This morning?" asked Alex. The men replied no more. "Well what are we all doing sitting around here in the dark? Haven't any of you tried to find a door or something?" His movements began to animate around the huddled group and often they could feel his stumbling footing near their backs as his hands scampered about the stone wall. "What is this thing we've been thrown in?"

"We have better chance to wait. When gate opens there is light." said Ali.

"Then when it opens again we'll all tackle the bastards." Alex announced in his fury.

"No. We cannot." said Ali.

"Why?"

"We are bound."

"Bound? Then I'll unbind you." he fumbled for one of the young men's arms, only to discover that the Eloi was bound in heavy chains.

"We are bound also." said Kalen. "Kenay and I." His voice, like everyone else's, echoed in the dark.

"I don't get it - any of it. Why would they bind all of you by wrist and ankle and not me? Did they run out of chain perhaps?" he palmed his mouth and then slid it upon his forehead, working his hand nervously through his hair. "What do they want with us? Why are they holding us here?!"

"Do they feed you?" Kenay asked, dumbly.

"Is food the only blasted thing you can think about?!" the Professor snapped. "We're prisoners, Kenay. Prisoners for God's sake! Eating is the last thing that we should be thinking of right now. We _should_ be trying to escape!"

Kenay winced as his sharp words scattered about the place.

"Prisoners dammit!" he reiterated.

"I only ask for the sake of starvation." Kenay mumbled.

"They throw food." Ali whispered unto him.

During Alexander's hysterics, Everyone moped and held their heads low. Kalen especially felt hopeless and terrified in this. The Time Traveler was, for the most part, a civil gentleman. He rarely let his temper get the better of him and often, when frustrated with some minor thing, he would contain himself well. But cornered and threatened he became like a raging bull one might say, or rather a lion backed up and desperate in a cage. His shouts and curses soon transformed into the pounding of his fists against the walls of the stone barrier.

All they could do for now was hope that the other hunting parties - the two besides their own - were having better luck than they. Maybe, by some chance, one of the other parties would happen upon the place and manage to avoid being trapped - save _them_ perhaps. If only it were possible. Alexander had been aware of these other parties; but he never saw them leave. For their group was the last and smallest that had taken to the wild; and it was likely that the other parties would be returning home by now, or so he hoped.

~TTT~

His steps were swift as he leapt over stones, rubble and fallen timber. For with him he brought haste. He may have been stripped of his weapons, stripped of his courage, but if there was one thing they could not take, it was his haste.

His feet chugged heavily against the harsh jungle environment. Through the tangle of bamboo and trees he weaved with cunning. His arms shifted about his sides and his chest was kept high. He was determined.

The warrior could hear them behind, for they had chased and stalked him all night. In his mind he was devious, yet desperate. He was calculating, remembering, taking roads he hoped he knew. They snarled and roared, never tiring and never stopping. The warrior knew his legs would not last nigh as long as they. Not as long as the beasts.

He panted in the run, his tongue almost lapping like a dog, his chest tightening - but stop he would not. He would go on until he reached it and up ahead it waited - the cliff's edge that lapped dangerously steep over the river.

The Morlocks were knocking and running over the thin bamboo that stood faulting their path; and when a great stone or stump laid in their way, they would fly through the air, only closing in on their prey ever more.

There were three of the heavy brutes, heavyset and mangy. They reeked of foulness and ticks and they were thirsty for man-flesh. They were not gangly and poor like Alon's killer. Nay, these brutes were well-fed, well-built and far more confident in their strides. But the young Eloi was too full of eagerness to survive to ponder on where they might have come from. Though clearly, they were from another Colony - far from the Morlock Caverns _he_ knew.

They rambled on, the prey's scent getting stronger. At last, the three of them had advanced. For stranded on the cliff he was, staring back at them in his terror.

They leaped in spiteful hunger, assuring themselves that he could escape them no more; but surprise he brought to the brutes. For the young warrior jumped and wailed as he fell. Two of the Morlocks stopped dead in their tracks, huffing and snarling and roaring in their rage; but one of them leapt after the victim, not thinking nor ready to give in to defeat. It didn't heed that there came no splash with the Eloi's fall. Thus, the Morlock's leap was a fool's endeavor, for the Eloi was clung tightly to a lapping branch that draped from a small, dead tree over the river. He watched painfully as the Morlock fell into the racing current; but his relief was cut short, for the branch began to crack and tear and within an instant he had hit the cold river that carried him brutally down it's tide.

He struggled to stay afloat, and he fought to avoid the Morlock, who, in time, could swim no longer and drowned. One burden was lifted, but the fight for swimming remained. The river was a water pool of cold madness and he knew not where it was taking him; he only knew not to question it's power. So he flowed with it and with the water he became one, for it was the only chance of survival. He prayed in his tongue that it would carry him home, or at least to a point that he could swim ashore.

The remaining Morlocks who had resisted the leap quickly fled back into the shadows of the jungle, returning to their home - wherever that could be. For these beasts had come to be, in the passing of generations, intolerable to too long of an exposure to daylight. Morlocks could only bear it for so long. The only apparent reason for them coming out when they did was for hunting purposes. It was after all the time when their prey was most active - and most vulnerable for busying themselves with 'daily life'.

~TTT~

Mara wandered along the banks. She shrouded her cold body in the warmth that was given by her blue shawl. She came hither to the water in hopes of solitary, un-crowding herself from the chattering of the women folk and the playing of the children who mingled near the Monument Grounds. What men folk had remained - about sixty or more by count - were still busy in the Library Ruins, cleaning and revamping it for Vox, making it more of a delightful place to visit rather than a place to dread. As for Vox's old friend, who's bones had remained in the cobwebbed corner for so long, he had been given a decent tomb outside the ruins.

For the most part, the men enjoyed their work in the ruins - save Vox's overly generous suggestions.

This morning, the first hunting party returned, although with little meat. They were resting now in their homes - something they very much needed.

Alone at last, she thought to herself, meeting the eyes of her reflection through the pale water. Her eyes caught sight of a glimmering stone, but when her hand tried to bring it from the river sand, the blue-hazed little creature swam away at a lightening speed and she reckoned that it was a fish rather than a stone of some sort.

Sighing, she remained crouched on the rock-beds, hidden in the comfort of the tall river grass. Then her heart became anxious for companionship - any companionship, really. Standing and glancing round the Monument Grounds, she saw that Isra was busy with her quilting; and so Mara took to the river in her canoe where she found her way to Vox at the Stone Gallery.

"Photonic? Photonic…" She felt awkward in communication with him. Even though Vox was kind, and he did not make her feel threatened, there was just something about him that unnerved her. Perhaps she still thought that he was a 'Ghost' despite his efforts to argue otherwise with the Eloi.

"Over here." His sudden appearance on the glass always made her jump. He saw her breath out the edginess that had seized through her as she rested her hand upon her chest. "I'm sorry, Mara. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No," she gave him in reply, "You only startle me." she smiled, faintly.

"I seem to have that effect on a lot of people." Vox mused. "So what brings you here? Would you like to hear a book? I've been dying to recite some Edgar Allen Poe to someone…"

"I came here not for a story, Vox." she told him evasively.

"Oh," Vox removed his 'Photonic' spectacles, settling himself away from his excitement. He could see her weak smile fading and with her eyes cast downward he knew that something wasn't right with her. "Then what is it I can do for you?"

"I was…I -"

"Wait." he halted her speech. "You're lonely. Am I correct?"

"Well," she thought, "How do you know?"

"Ah, I can always tell when someone's lonely. I've assisted too many emotional people in my old days. What's on your mind?"

She hesitated for a moment, musing herself at the Photonic's reaction. Alexander had explained to her that he was not really an actual 'live' being and that he was technically a programmed machine that held all the knowledge of the world - though this confused her more than anything. It wasn't like Alexander could expect a girl in her time to comprehend these things so easily. And really he didn't - though he wanted to. She wasn't dumb or naive like the others. He never hesitated to give her credit - that was one thing she cherished about the Professor.

"Alexander and Kalen…and the others. I worry for their safety. I - I didn't won't to trouble Isra any longer with my mind. She has been so kind and…It is unfair to burden her."

"So, your last result was to confide into a Photonic." he didn't ask it, but rather stated it. She nodded, still huddled beneath the shelter of her shawl.

"I have many dreams." she said. "Mainly of the Master." she sighed deeply. "Photonic - Vox, why does he haunt me? It seems that it has begun since the hunting party of Alexander and Kalen left."

"Hmmm…that is quite a question. Well, I have data on many different types of books…medical books."

"Medical?" She furrowed her brows.

"Yes, medicinal practices…psychiatry, human behavior…" he eyed her carefully, "Reoccurring dreams."

"Can you tell me…why I have these dreams?"

"Well, perhaps if you _explain_ your dreams I can decipher them a bit better."

"I do not know where to begin. It is the same one almost every night."

"Start from the beginning."

"It is in the Caverns, _their _Caverns, after I've been taken. The Morlock carry me down a chamber with the others who were taken that day. There are strange tools…"

"What sort of tools?"

"I would not know how to word it. Things used for killing and cutting."

"Butchering?"

"Yes." she swallowed. "They begin stripping us, but the one who holds me stops suddenly and carries me to a dark room where the Master sits. They throw me into a cage at his command and he stares at me with his cold eyes." she shivered as she recalled his face. "And I cannot move or speak. He has all power over me. He speaks to me, telling me that he will keep me for his own."

"To breed with?"

"I suppose." She wanted to wince at the thought. "In the last dream I had, it was much the same, but he mentioned Alexander to me. He began telling me that The Time Traveler would come soon, to try and save me. After that he spoke of what would happen to Alexander if he attempted to disrupt their world. It made me want to cry and at the same time, claw the Master's eyes out. But he only laughed, as if it were some game to him."

"I see. Mara, I think I may know what is troubling you. And I must say that I do not think it fruitless to have these thoughts."

"Fruitless? What do you mean, _fruitless_?"

"Oh, I forgot. Fruitless is a term meaning futile…or needless. I think that, your reason behind these reoccurring dreams is for the fact that, well, the Master spoke of other Colonies. And with Alexander and Kalen being out there in the wild you fear subconsciously that they may run into more Morlocks. You never had this particular fear before because back then, before Alexander came, you didn't know about there being other Colonies." Vox knew this, no doubt. Alexander had told him of everything that had been spoken by the Master the day right after he had escaped.

Mara rested her face into her palms as she fell slowly to her knees beneath the shelter built around them. She sobbed roughly, and her tears were broken between speech.

"Mara," Vox was clueless in seeing her in such a state. It wasn't like he could give her the same comfort that another person could - such as putting an arm over her at least or offering a tissue, not that the Eloi had tissues, but they would still dry each others tears, he thought. "Mara come now. Don't let it upset you. There's really nothing you can do anyhow. Crying will only make it worse."

"One hunting party came home today. They did not bring back much food for winter, or Alexander and Kalen." she gasped.

"But their little hunting party was the last to leave. They'll more than likely be the last to return. There were only two that left before them so they'll likely be back before long."

"No Vox. I do not think they will. I do not feel it in my heart." She stood then, still sobbing, and scampered away back to the canoe. In this action, she lost her shawl as it had plopped to the floor of the Stone Gallery 'School Room' in her leave.

"Mara! Mara wait!…Oh good grief." Vox sighed.

Mara pushed through the river in her canoe in a fleeing haste. She was occupied by her grievous thoughts, her sorrows, her heavy heart. She felt so weak, so useless. She felt also that she was not doing the duty her parents would've wanted her to carry out - and that was protecting Kalen. It was not Alexander she distrusted but the treachery of the jungle rather. For she feared also the losing of him. He was such a man in her eyes, an extraordinary man. And if anything should happen to dear Kalen, she would no longer care to live.

In her swooshing of paddling, her grieving came to an almost sudden halt and her mindfulness was cast directly onto another dilemma of some sort. Near the bank tucked messily between the river grasses was an unconscious body. It was a male, she assumed, with one arm draped over a small boulder.

Carefully, she slowed her paddling to a calm, careful row. As she closed in on the body, she could see that it was an Eloi. Once in the shallows, she leaped over the side of the boat, pulling it to shore and ignoring the cold water against her skin.

Once closer, she knelt down, seeing that the body was bruised and scratched about the shoulders and head. He had woolly hair and in it was tiny weeds and thorns that had somehow buried themselves within the tangles. His skin was cold against her hands and she feared that this stranger, who's back was to her, had died. But as she turned him over she gasped in astonishment, for it was Toren. His face was bearded now and he appeared lifeless. Mara wasted no time in galloping to the Monument Grounds. The closer she came, the better her shouts and calls could be heard.

"Toren! Uklar baren duquin!" she reiterated. The women, children and few men that mingled in the grounds dropped all that they were doing and rushed to her. She nearly collapsed in one man's arms. She was breathless and almost listless from running. "Toren, uklar baren duquin."

"Toren? Pa'mora we?" asked the male who gripped her arms.

"The river, down that way…in the…grass near my canoe." she told him.

"Noi!" he beckoned for the men to follow him, leaving Mara to stay with Isra and the other women. One female offered her some water and gladly she took it during her rest.

~TTT~

The light of the paper lamps danced prettily round the shelter of the Stone Gallery. Weary eyes were on him and he was propped on a thick bundle of quilts, his body shrouded by the covers. Mara assisted his shaking hands in the holding of a bowl of soup - something that they hoped would give him strength. His body trembled terribly and he had been stripped of his wet clothes; but he didn't care. He was only glad to be home again - he never really expected that he _would _return…alive.

"Give him a moment." he could hear Vox say.

The trammels of being prey were gone from him for now, though still he felt vulnerable. Vulnerable that his body was too weak for good use. Toren was not one who could bear such restraints.

"Toren," Mara was the first to speak, "Tell us what happened. Where are the others?"

He could sense the tension and anxiousness in her. At first he stared into her, as if confused and forgotten. She nearly questioned him again, but he managed to reply. Toren was recalling on the event very vividly in his frenzy of weary thoughts and stuttered speech.

"The - they br - brought fru - fruit." he paused, shaking his head as if displeased with his choice of words. He began again, but this time at an earlier point. "It rained. We co - could not find food. We found a cave and I and some oth - other men went to hunt while Alexander and Kalen stayed with others in the cave," he swallowed and thought before going on, "We - we got lost in woods. One day we found many fruits and fish laid out for us like a feast. We were confused at first, not knowing where the food come from."

"Wait," Vox paused him, "You mean you and the other men you took along found a feast in the woods?"

"Ye - yes." Toren replied, troubled. "We ate it. We were starved. The food made us sleep and we woke up in dark place."

"You woke in a dark place?" Mara asked.

"Yes. It was dark and we heard voices. One voice spoke in Stone Language, a male. He say that we were for the Morlocks."

The Eloi became hysterical at the mention of the beasts, whispering and sobbing amongst themselves, believing and fearing wholeheartedly that the Morlocks had survived.

"Quiet!" Vox silenced them at last, "Let Toren finish. Now, where was this?"

"Far, far away. These Morlock were from other place. Not from our land. I don't know how."

"I do." said Mara, eyeing him. "You and the others never gave me a chance to explain but…the Master said there were other Colonies out there." She spoke again. "Go on."

"Th - these men, they were giving us to Morlock. One night, a little door opened in the roof of cave and a hairy hand grabbed me by the head and another pulled me up by the shoulders. They were taking me off, dragging me. I - I -" he grabbed his forehead, trying hard not to break down. "I don't remember much after. I escaped. I ran and I jumped in river. I came to shore and traveled many miles along the bank, till I could walk no more. I fell to ground in hopes of dying."

"That must've been before Mara found you." Vox suggested. "It sounds to me that these other men, who took you, were feeding you to the Morlocks. But I wonder why..."

"What about Kalen and Alexander?" Mara asked, cutting in.

"And the others." said a woman. "What about Alon? Was he with you?"

Toren glanced the woman with wild, uncertain eyes. She furrowed her brows at him, studying his insane expression with utter suspicion.

"Where is my husband?" she asked again, her two small children kept at her sides and a baby in her arms. "Was he with you?"

Toren did not reply to her in words at first, he only shook his head and he could see that she had found some relief. At last, he could deny her no more and spoke.

"He is…" he swallowed, "Alon, he did not make it so far as we."

"What?" the woman asked, her tone whispered. The Stone Gallery was drenched in silence as the two exchanged words.

"He was lost to us."

"What?" she seemed to disbelieve this.

"A Rogue Morlock, the Time Traveler called it. Before the rains came, it took him in the night. We could not save him….I am," the woman began shaking her head, lowering herself to the floor, "I am sorry Merona." Toren finished. "We buried him beneath stone."

"No," she stated, "No. No, no, no, no, NO!" she screeched her last 'no' and her children jumped in their skin. "NO!" she shouted over and over. The baby in her arms began crying along with her and the other two little ones, who remained beside her, could not speak or react; though their faces said enough about how they felt.

Two women came and collected her children and another escorted her away to a quieter place. The silence remained for a good while, save Merona's wails.

"What now?" asked a stout boy.

"We will talk more about this tomorrow." Vox said, grimly. "I think that for now you should all return to your hovels."

"I will stay here and care for Toren." Mara stated. Vox nodded in agreement.

~TTT~

Mara tended to Toren's wounds and hungry stomach for some few hours. They were both alone, though Vox would soon return to check in on them.

Toren's eyes hardly left Mara's face, until she glanced him - which was rare. He could see the worry painted on her, the bitterness and resentment she must have felt. He hoped that it was not towards him for some reason or other.

The night was silent, the sky cloudy and no creatures stirred. The wind was cool, and they kept their bodies wrapped. Mara built a flame where she brewed more soup for the tired patient under her care. Toren was growing tired of the silence, tired that she was so barricaded within herself, so he broke the quiet solemn and spoke.

"I know you are worried. When I am better, I will return to find them."

"I don't know if it will be." she said, sighing, "You are weak."

"Not so weak." he assured her. His voice was calm and comforting almost, if anything could be of a comfort to her now. He watched as she carefully readied the cloth for the cleaning of his scratched arm and when she was within reach, he gently clutched her hand and brought her eyes to him. "Mara," he whispered, "No' taca domera tone. Po'r tlora kana len." He thanked her for the finding of his body and for the tending of him. She smiled, albeit weakly, but she didn't say anything in response to it. She knew he had hoped for her to say something more, but she had nothing more _to_ say.

"Mara," he spoke again in the passing of many minutes. He found it impossible to tear his gaze away from her. "Mara tell me you are not unpleased with my return."

"I am glad you are safe." she said, nonchalantly, or so she sounded. "You were lucky." Her words sounded cold in a way, though truly she was only being distant.

"Mara," he took her hand again, sitting up beneath the covers. "Do you wish that the Time Traveler had returned instead?"

She frowned at him, angered by his assumptions. He seemed to think that he had unmasked her.

"You speak like a fool." she said, trying to brush it off, but he kept edging her.

"A fool in love." he stated, "Will you not return it? Mara, I loved you before he came. I loved you after he came and stole your heart and I love you now."

"Stop it!" she snapped. "Stop this! Or I will leave you alone."

"…Forgive me." he murmured. "I did not want to anger you."

At length she returned to the stirring of the boiling soup over the small flame, a flame that was hardly as great as the one raising within her soul.

"I am going to go and find them." she said. Her confession unnerved him into a hysterical state.

"A woman go?! No! You are more valued here! You will stay, _I_ will go!"

She looked onto him in a craze, her eyes anxious and watering with frustration.

"There is more in this Eloi than womb to bear children. I can do more than populate the Colony."

"Mara!" he snapped, but she over spoke him.

"He saved me! _Him_! Alexander! He came when no one else would or could." the 'could' was in reference to Kalen. "And I will save him." she said, fighting the tears that banged against her eyes. "My brother, too, is out there and I will stop at nothing to bring him back."

"You will die!"

"I rather die in trying than die of grief!"

"It is a perilous land!" he told her.

"Toren, no cage will hold me now." With all that had unfolded this day and of all she had heard from him, she was more driven to go.

"Then I tie you to a tree!"

"No! I will go alone if I must…in secret!"

"Not alone." A voice roused them and in the dim light of the shelter they could see that is was Isra. "I will follow you, Mara."

"Isra." Mara gasped, "Isra, I cannot,"

The girl rushed toward her and she quickly bent down, placing her fingers before Mara's lips.

"My mind is made up. You and I will go."

Mara smiled at her, heartened by her determination and loyalty. Her nod told Isra that she was ever glad.

"You stupid women!" Toren spat at them, "Do you believe the other men will agree to this? They will throw you in pit first!"

"Perhaps at your pleasure." Vox surprised all of them by his reappearance. "But from where I come from, it's not unusual to see strong, brave and intelligent women; and I'm proud to know that they too have survived the change of time."

Mara and Isra gave to him their honored smiles while Toren pouted at the thought.

"I insist that they do go." the Photonic said.

"You are Ghost! You make no choices!"

"How many times must I tell you numbskulls that I'm a Photonic?! P H O T O N I C! They're two different things. A Ghost is what many consider a dead person. I am not a Ghost!" he said, huffing and straitening his tie, "Now, they _will_be going. If you're going to find Alexander and the remaining hunting party as well as save the others, you'll be needing brains and cunning not to mention determination. And I can see that Mara and Isra have all of these qualities."

Toren started for words again but Vox interrupted him.

"However, Toren is right about one thing. It will be dangerous out there. You'll need men going along, men who are skilled."

"But who? Who will go that will agree to this, Vox?" Isra asked.

"I have a few young fellows in mind…a few of the more 'open minded' type. I also have a few suggestions I'd like to offer you…tactics to avoid Morlock encounters. Toren, you'll be going along also. You _are_ the only one who may know your way around."

"I do not see what use these two will be, Vox. They slow us down."

"No we won't." Mara said, "We're just as quick as you."

"And as limber." Isra added.

"Indeed." said Vox. "But we have much to discuss. You'll all need to be prepared. You're group will be small... Isra,"

"Yes?"

"I want you to go to the village. Collect Bem, Nank and Rye."

"What do I say?"

"Tell them the Photonic would like to see them. If they question you, pretend you don't know. But I need to see them and in private…tonight."

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

A/N: Hi everyone! I've noticed that I've spelled a few things wrongly in this and didn't edit it quite enough. Unfortunately I've just discovered that I'm missing my docs for this so it may be a while before I can fix the little grammar error. Feel free to point anything out in the mean time.


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